Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu
by tenken
Summary: What if Seta Soujiro met another man that night, ten years ago? Parody focusing on Soujiro and Neji (OC) (Chapter 19 up! )
1. Prologue: A Smile and A Great Man

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu [By: Tenken86]  
  
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and its characters do not belong to me, so please do not sue me!! ^_^  
  
Rating : PG (language, violence) Depends if u actually listen to the rating things.*  
  
This story doesn't exactly follow the RK plot, (well, actually the main bits did..)and I changed a few details here and there :p, and got a "few" facts wrong, but this is the power of a pen! You can make up stuff!! I used some lines directly from maigo-chan's translations also, and used them as a base for the story (at least the prologue so far..)'s conversation, because they're really good translation. so if maigo-chan ends up reading this.. and u recognize it sounds like what you wrote.. GOMEN NASAI!!!  
  
Prologue "A Smile and a Great Man"  
  
Seta Soujiro gasped as he put another rice barrel down in the warehouse. he thought to himself, stepping outside and closing the door in one motion. The eight year old went over to the well, hauled up a bucket of water, and wet a rag in the cold liquid.  
  
Soujiro winced as the cut on his forehead stung him. He stood, remembering the pain of the sake bottle's contact on his head, and the smile that never left his face, even when the cut bled and dripped down. Soujiro frowned slightly, holding the rag to his head.  
  
"What the hell are you grinning about! You're not setting foot in this house till you finish the job! You're sleeping outside tonight!"  
  
"Then dad's mistress leaves this brat on our hands."  
  
"That kid . .. He's always got that creepy little grin on his face. We had to adopt him for the sake of appearances, but he's not all there."  
  
"He'll work for us all his life and we'll never have to give him a thing."  
  
He jumped as he heard a man's harsh scream. he thought, dropping the cloth and running towards the sound. Without knowing why, Soujiro ran faster towards the sounds as two more screams screeched across the night sky. He peeked around the corner to see a policeman confronting a lanky man in bandages.  
  
The policeman shouted and raised his sword above his head with both hands, then screamed as both were cut off, eyes bulging as he was cut in half. The man in bandages panted and lowered his sword as the two halves fell to the ground. Soujiro started to back off.  
  
he thought to himself. A small twig lay on the ground, inches from the boy's foot, when a booted foot stepped up to Soujiro and stopped his retreat with a firm hand.  
  
"Wha..?" Soujiro started to say, but another hand covered his mouth. He looked up with wide eyes into the face of a huge man. The man wore a long white coat with a red trim. He had long greenish hair and a scary looking frown.  
  
The man pulled Soujiro away from the man in bandages and then released him when they were a distance away. Soujiro dampened his shock about seeing the slaughter of the policemen with a smile.  
  
"Who are you sir?" Soujiro asked. The tall, muscled man smirked.  
  
"Hiko Seijuurou." Soujiro waited politely until Hiko asked for his name.  
  
"Seta Soujiro." Soujiro replied, smiling. "Do you know who that man was? The one in bandages?" Hiko frowned.  
  
"I haven't seen him before." Hiko said, shrugging. "But if he heard you, he would've killed you without a second thought."  
  
"Me?" Soujiro asked, confused. "But I haven't done anything to him." Hiko ignored the child's question.  
  
"What were you doing out here so late at night? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Hiko asked. "Does your father know you're out here kid?" Soujiro blinked, then smiled widely.  
  
"I usually sleep outside, but I was still awake when I heard the screams." Soujiro replied, looking down and smiling. Hiko blinked in surprise, then shrugged.  
  
"Do you have a place where I could stay kid?"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Hiko leaned against a barrel of rice that Soujiro had painstakingly carried there. "So kid, what's this about you sleeping outside?" Hiko asked, taking out a small sake bottle out from under his coat. Uncorking it, he drank from the bottle. "You did something bad?"  
  
"I was told to move a hundred barrels of rice." Soujiro murmured. "But after I finished, I heard the screams and went to see what happened." Hiko spluttered into his sake, then composed himself.  
  
"One hundred barrels of rice? Do they think you're their slave or something?"  
  
"I don't belong to the family." Soujiro murmured again. "That's why they treat me that way.Sometimes. I don't feel like this is worth it. I mean, if I'm gonna spend my whole life working for them, sometimes.." Soujiro looked up at Hiko, smiling. "I don't feel its worth me staying alive."  
  
Hiko blinked then stood up and walked over to the child. "Don't say that." Hiko growled. "Whatever the circumstance, you should never give up so easily." Hiko kneeled down so he was at eye level with Soujiro. "Kid, nothing is stronger than the will to live!!"  
  
Soujiro blinked and a shocked expression appeared on his face. Hiko stood up and exited the rice barn. Soujiro jumped up and ran after him. "Hiko- san?" Soujiro asked, when the man walked up to a sturdy tree on his foster family's estate. "What..?"  
  
Soujiro's eyes widened as Hiko's sword left its sheath in a flash and a thick branch seemingly popped off of the tree. Soujiro flinched as the branch hit the ground, then his eyes trailed to the sword.  
  
"I haven't seen a sword like that before. Well, I've seen my brother's.but this one seems different." Hiko smirked and held up the sword.  
  
"This was made by a master swords- maker Arai Shakkuu." Soujiro nodded absentmindedly and picked up the piece of wood.  
  
"Why'd you cut this down, Hiko-san?" Soujiro asked, hefting the wood. "Try swinging that around a few times kid." Hiko said, cutting down another branch then sheathing his sword.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Soujiro fell back against the rice barrels panting. His hands hurt from gripping the branch, and he hurt from blows that Hiko delivered with seemingly lightening speed.  
  
"Take a break boy." Hiko said, squatting down with the branch against his knees. Hiko took out a cloth from his coat and unwrapped some food. "Eat something." Soujiro nodded and took the food, a rice ball.  
  
Munching on it, he took hold of the branch with his other hand and looked at it. Around two and a half feet long, an inch and a half in diameter, it was a sturdy weapon, though Soujiro had never realized it while fighting.  
  
Finishing off the rice ball, Soujiro held the branch in the two handed grip that Hiko told him about. "Hiko-san." Soujiro said. "Thanks.I'm gonna go sleep now." Hiko nodded while drinking some sake. Soujiro walked outside and put the branch underneath the house, and fell asleep against the stairs.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Soujiro!! Soujiro!!" the father bellowed. "Where the hell is that boy when you want him?!?" The two sons stood behind him.  
  
"Give him a chance, he probably can't run fast because of the beating you gave him yesterday." The younger one said, with a smile. Soujiro ran up to the pair awkwardly with another rice barrel on his back, dropping it onto the ground.  
  
"Hai?" Soujiro asked, slowing to a stop in front of his foster family. "Ufff!!!" He grunted as his father's fist hit him in the stomach, sending him flying.  
  
"Stupid brat." The father grunted. "Took so long coming.." He walked off with a bottle of sake in his hand, taking swigs of it. Soujiro's brothers walked down to him.  
  
"Did you hear any noises last night Soujiro?" the younger one asked him, looking down at the boy sprawled in the dust. Soujiro looked up and smiled, trying to ignore the pain in his stomach. The older brother reached down, grabbed his kimono, and lifted him off his feet.  
  
"There's a murderer running about, that's what the police say. You sure you didn't hear anything?? Cause if I catch that murdering bastard, I'll . . ." the older brother smirked, then threw Soujiro down onto the floor and drew his sword. "I'll kill him!!"  
  
The rice barrel was slashed in two and its contents rained out onto the dirt and dust. "Great, that's a rice barrel wasted." The younger one said. "You make a lot of trouble..." He cleared his voice and spoke louder.  
  
"Oh no, Soujiro, it looks like you've broken another barrel with your clumsiness!!" Their father burst out of the house.  
  
"What??" He shouted, sake running down his chin. "How many of those do you think we have brat?? You can't do something this simple right?? I'm not letting you get away with it this time!!"  
  
The older brother walked back into the house, ignoring the sounds of flesh on flesh, knowing that his father was beating Soujiro. When he opened the door of his room, he winced.  
  
'Damn. I need to get some bandages. That bastard Ebisu . . . anyway, I taught him, he's hurt ten times this..' Holding his side, he walked into his mother's room. "Mom, oh, she's not in. I'll just get them and tell her later. . ."  
  
He went into her medicine drawer and took out the whole stock of bandages.  
  
'In case if I need more, if those bastards want to have another fight..' he thought, closing the drawer and forgetting about telling his mother about the bandages.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Even if you're not in their family, they can't treat you like this." Hiko said, taking a drink of sake. "Getting beaten because a spoiled rice barrel..And still you smile, kid." Soujiro looked up, smiling.  
  
"I started to smile because it confused them. It made them stop hurting me." he said. "I used to cry and yell at them to stop.but that just made them hit me harder.. Smiling surprised them, I think."  
  
Hiko shrugged. "Anyway kid, you're to tired to do anything today.. Now get out of here and let me rest." Hiko said, waving him away with a grin. "Get some sleep."  
  
Soujiro nodded, stepping outside and closing the door in one motion.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Has anyone taken the bandages from my medicine drawer?" Soujiro's mother asked, coming into the room where the family was sitting. Each shrugged in turn.  
  
"I bet Soujiro took them, the little thief." The aunt said.  
  
"Well, he probably needs them, dad beat him up a lot today." The younger brother said, lifting his pipe. The older brother nodded absentmindedly, forgetting the rolls of bandage in his room.  
  
"Five rolls? Nobody could use so much." The mom replied. The older brother blinked suddenly.  
  
"Wasn't, wasn't that murderer, the rebel, didn't he have burns that covered his whole body?" he said. "And he was covered in bandages.."  
  
Soujiro's father looked up, dropping his sake bottle on the floor. The sake dripped slowly out of the bottle's neck onto the tatami mat, staining it with wetness. "Yeah, he does! Soujiro! That bastard!!"  
  
"Nothing is stronger than the will to live.." Soujiro said to himself, sitting on the stairs with the branch resting on his legs.  
  
"I guess it does sound kind of stupid to give up so easily. And he's so good at fighting, maybe that's cause he has a strong will to live.." Soujiro yawned widely, got off the stair and put the branch away. "Oh well, just go to sleep and."  
  
"SOUJIRO!!!"  
  
"!" Soujiro looked up in surprise. 'What would they want this late?' Soujiro shook his head and ran towards the voice. He stopped when he saw his family all waiting for him. His father had a shovel and his oldest brother, his sword. "Wha..?"  
  
His father whipped the shovel around, at Soujiro's head. Eyes widening, Soujiro tried to dodge it like Hiko would have, but it still hit him on his shoulder, sending him spinning and crashing onto the floor. "Aggg."  
  
He clutched his shoulder, which throbbed with pain. The shovel hit him again. "You think you could trick me??" Soujiro's father shouted. "Where's the rebel?? What're you trying to do to my business?!?"  
  
The older brother joined in with his sheathed sword.  
  
".." Soujiro clenched his teeth so hard he thought they would break. His hands were balled up in tight fists and he flinched as each blow went home.  
  
"If we tell the police about the rebel, maybe we'll get a reward." Soujiro's aunt said.  
  
"This is how the brat repays us." the mother said angrily, her baby in her arms. "We brought him up ourselves."  
  
"Damn it. I'm sick of this." The older brother said, unsheathing his sword. "Let's just kill him." Soujiro's eyes start to un-focus from the lack of air. I he thought painstakingly.  
  
'Nothing is stronger than the will to live..They'll kill me!!' Soujiro stumbled to his feet and started running.  
  
"He's running away!!!" The older brother shouted.  
  
*~*~*  
  
'Hiko-san!! I want to live! I don't want to die!!' Soujiro shouted in his head. "Hiko-san!! I don't want to die!!!" Without realizing it, Soujiro ran to where his branch was hidden. 'What am I doing? How can I protect myself with this??'  
  
Ignoring that thought, he scrambled underneath the house, holding the branch with a white knuckled grip. Breathing hard, Soujiro realized he was holding the branch in a two handed grip.  
  
'Just like Hiko showed me.'  
  
"I was right, this is where you are." The younger brother said, from his crouching position on the ground near Soujiro. "What're you doing with that stick? Quit playing around brat and come with me." He reached out to grab the stick.  
  
'The branch that Hiko-san gave me. Its my only weapon, I. Nothing is stronger than the will to live.'  
  
"Aggh!!"  
  
"What was that?" the aunt asked, looking around.  
  
"It must be Soujiro." the mother said, looking around also. A body tumbled out from underneath the house a little ways away from the family. "There's the brat now.."  
  
Lightening cracked revealing the younger brother, unconscious on the floor.  
  
"What?" the father shouted. "What happened..??" Soujiro climbed out from underneath the house, with the thick branch in his right hand. The boy looked up, a smile on his face.  
  
"Hiko-san was right." He said, looking at the branch. "There's nothing stronger than the will to live."  
  
'I want to live. I don't want to kill them, but I don't want to die.'  
  
"You brat!!" The father and the brother ran towards Soujiro, shovel and sword raised. Soujiro dodged the sword and smashed the branch against his father's neck, who went down in a heap.  
  
"Bastard!!!" Soujiro's older brother shouted, bringing the sword down towards Soujiro's head. The boy rolled to dodge it and stood up again, to discover Hiko standing in front of him.  
  
"Hiko-san." Soujiro murmured. Hiko looked back with a sour face.  
  
"Baka. You think that you can do so much yourself." Hiko grunted. "Baka deshi. Damn.. great.. I've got two of them now."  
  
"Huh?" Soujiro asked, the branch in a two handed grip again.  
  
"Get outta my way, this is family business!" the brother shouted. Hiko ignored him. "Fine, I'll kill you also!!!" Soujiro's oldest brother lunged at Hiko, who's sword whipped out of its sheath with lightening speed.  
  
Soujiro blinked at the half of a sword that plunged into the ground, and with only minimal interest, at his brother crashing onto the floor.  
  
"Hiko-san." Soujiro said, when Hiko sheathed his sword and started to walk off. "Are you leaving?" Hiko looked back, stomped over to Soujiro, and whacked him upside the head.  
  
"What are you doing baka deshi?" He growled. "Unless if you want to be here when they wake up.??" Soujiro blinked and shook his head rapidly, smiling. Hiko nodded and strode off again, Soujiro jogging to keep up with him.  
  
He didn't look back, and only noticed the man next to him and the branch in his hand.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Husband! Husband!! Please wake up!! Soujiro and that man left.. Husband!!" His eyes creaked open, and saw his wife hovering over him. They snapped the rest of the way open.  
  
"What? That brat's gone??" he growled. ". . . Well, we'll have no trouble from him at least.. Even though I would've enjoyed getting rid of him. Now, if we could get that rebel, we could get a nice reward."  
  
He was cut off from a scream from his sister.  
  
"What is it? !!!!" A man walked out of their house, two swords at his side. A man covered in new bandages.  
  
'That feels better, new bandages makes it hurt less..' the bandaged man thought. 'hmm?'  
  
"The, the rebel!!" the oldest son shouted, holding the hilt of his broken sword. The younger one stood behind him, holding his neck where he was hit by the branch. The family inched together as the man saw them and started walking towards them.  
  
"You saw me," the bandaged man said. "You did. you all have to die, I don't want anyone telling tales." The younger brother started to quiver.  
  
"The rebel." he murmured. "The murderer. Shishio Makoto."  
  
A grin appeared on Shishio's face as he unsheathed his sword.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Anou.. Hiko-san?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"About the baka deshi thing. Does that mean you'll train me? You're my sensei?" Soujiro asked, looking at the man next to him. Hiko nodded.  
  
"You seem to have some skill kid." Hiko said, taking out his sake bottle and drinking from it. "You can replace my baka deshi, doesn't seem like he's going to be coming back soon anyway." Soujiro smiled.  
  
"Hai sensei!"  
  
End  
  
Aggg. It took me so long to get outta my writer's block. I had like, one page done for like a month.then just now I felt like writin.and ended up finishing the prologue.. This is gonna be a damn long fanfic!!! (probably gonna be so boring that nobody'd wanna read it. oh well.. this is the first serious fanfic I've written..like, I've done some that was more like fanfics cause I was bored..but yeah. can I get some opinions?? Thanks! 


	2. Chapter 1: The Tenken, the Hitoriki, and...

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu [Tenken86]  
  
Disclaimer: Hmm.guess wat I'm gonna write here.hmmm.. maybe.. I don't own rurouni kenshin. I'm eventually gonna make up a character, so he's gonna belong to me *grins* but rite now.. I don't own any.. *sniff sniff* so don't sue poor me!!! Rating: G. I think.. this is gonna be a short chapter.. just like, Hiko and Soujiro training. Its gonna be short (I think.but I'm writin this in the beginning, so I dunno how it'll end up.:P).. oh well.. may end up long like da prologue.  
  
notes: [ ] flashback ' ' = thought  
  
Chapter 1 "The Tenken, The Hitokiri, and the Master"  
  
The rainfall broke easily on the backs of a broad shouldered man and of a small boy. Standing on a ledge overlooking a waterfall, the two had drawn swords in hand and the boy was panting from fatigue.  
  
"You can't be tired yet Soujiro." Hiko Seijirou said, resting his sword lightly against his shoulder, waiting for the boy to catch his breath. Soujiro looked up smiling.  
  
"I'm okay." Soujiro raised his sword, and copied Hiko, resting his sword. Vaguely aware of the edge of his sword resting on his shoulder, Soujiro lifted his left foot and started to tap it against the ground. "Three steps."  
  
"You've been practicing more," Hiko said, shrugging, "hopefully it'll work better". Soujiro nodded, then tapped the right foot against the ground. Clods of dirt sprang from the ground, the path of destruction shot at the master of Hiten Mitsurugi.  
  
Lifting his sword from his shoulder, Hiko side-stepped lightly and swung the sword at Soujiro's back.  
  
'He's coming!' Soujiro thought. 'Now!' Soujiro changed direction and jumped as high as he could, his foot barely avoiding Hiko's slash. Twirling in midair, Soujiro began falling towards Hiko, who looked up.  
  
'Hiten Mitsurugi Ryutsusen!'  
  
Soujiro fell towards Hiko, who sidestepped and pointed the tip of his sword at Soujiro's face.  
  
"Baka." Hiko grunted. "You need to train for a lifetime more to be as good as me." Sheathing his sword and turning around, his cape flowing dramatically, Hiko walked away leaving Soujiro standing by himself on the ledge.  
  
"Ara? I thought he would've blocked and then I could have done Ryukansen." Soujiro said to himself. "Maybe I'm thinking too far ahead. That's probably it. Oh well. just practice the moves and maybe when I'm fighting they'll come out naturally. Eh? I'm talking to myself.."  
  
Soujiro shook his head, shook his head, and walked in the same direction as Hiko.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Damn baka deshi." Hiko muttered to himself, sitting in his hut and pouring himself sake. Hiko looked up at the roof. "What the hell is that idiot up to."  
  
[Hiko and the young Kenshin stood on the ledge in front of the waterfall, with Hiko's turned back to Kenshin.  
  
"No."  
  
"Master!" Kenshin shouted, taking a step forward.  
  
"You should be thinking of your training, not worrying about outside affairs." Hiko said, still not turning around.  
  
"But now a lot of people are being dragged into the fighting and getting killed!" Kenshin shouted, "The whole idea behind the Hiten Mitsurugi school is to protect people from the suffering of the ages! If I can't use my sword now, when can I? Master!!"  
  
Hiko turned his head slightly around, fixing his stare on his pupil. "If you're telling me why, defeat me now and go."  
  
Kenshin suddenly smacked him upside the head with his sheathed sword.  
  
"Damn! That was for real!"  
  
"That's because you don't understand!" Kenshin growled, still holding his sword.  
  
"You're the one who doesn't understand!" Hiko retorted. "... Fine, but because of the strength of the Hiten Mitsurugi school, you have to be sure you'll win before you take sides! I'm talking about the landing of the Black Ships! Do you understand me? In other words.."  
  
"I don't understand!" Kenshin shouted, pointing his fist at Hiko. "People are suffering before my eyes! They're in misery! I can't leave them as they are, no matter what the reason!"]  
  
'An idiot.' Hiko thought. 'If he had stayed here.. he could have finished his training. And I wouldn't have to waste time training a whole new student..'  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Soujiro stood with his feet spread, a wooden bokken in hands. Soujiro jumped high into the air, flipped down at the highest point, and flashed down, smashing the top of a thick pole wrapped in rope.  
  
'Ryutsusen.' Landing lightly on his feet, he spun around and smashed into the pole again. 'Ryukansen.'  
  
'The kid.' Hiko thought. 'He's a prodigy like Kenshin.'  
  
Soujiro tapped his foot. 'Shikuchi.' Soujiro flashed towards the pole, then disappeared and reappeared behind it. 'Ryusousen!' Slashing at the pole, Soujiro hit it five times in succession then jumped backwards as if dodging an attack.  
  
Grabbing the wooden bokken in one hand, he struck at the ground. 'Douryusen!' Earth exploded in the direction of the pole, smashing it halfway out of the ground. Splinters flew as the bokken snapped in half.  
  
'He's learnt how to use the basic moves of Hiten Mitsurugi in two years.' Hiko thought. 'He's able to use Shikuchi up to two steps before, but its shaky. If he's able to master that, and Hiten Mitsurugi he would be able to surpass Kenshin.'  
  
"..." Soujiro started picking up the pieces of his bokken. Dumping the chunks of now useless wood in a pile, he sat down and leaned against a tree. Looking up into the green leaves and dark branches, Soujiro's mind began to wander.  
  
'Hiko. . .no. . .master . . .he said before that he had another student. . .before me. Himura Kenshin. . . who couldn't stand training while people were dying.' Shaking his head, Soujiro stood up again. Tapping his foot on the ground, he started practicing Shikuchi.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
In the midst of a bloody and destroyed battlefield, flags were raised and a voice cried out. "The Bakufu is retreating!" More voices cheered out loud their victory.  
  
"We did it, we won! It's the dawn of a new era!"  
  
Himura Kenshin, known as the Hitokiri Battousai stood by himself, with a drawn, bloody sword in one hand, sheath in the other.  
  
'So it's over . . . finally. Interrupting Kenshin's peace of mind, a man with a head-dress showing the rank of commander shouted out to him.  
  
"Himura, over here! The fourth unit of the Shinsengumi is still fighting towards Fushimi!" Kenshin turned as if to go then whipped his head around as he sensed something.  
  
A boy with white hair stared coldly at the cross-scared samurai.  
  
"! Enshi!" Kenshin shouted, but the boy was swiftly swallowed up by the steady stream of peasants.  
  
"What is it?" the Commander asked, waiting for Kenshin to follow him.  
  
Kenshin, watched the spot where he Enishi appeared, thinking, 'Enishi.His hair was snow white. That's the form his pain took. It's not over. It's not over yet.'  
  
"So, you're leaving the Shishi, Himura." Shakkuu asked, making it sound like a statement. Kenshin, holding his two packages, turned to look at the man who rested a sword on his shoulder.  
  
"We've just won the first battle at Toba Fushimi." Kenshin replied. "From now on, it's just selfish fighting. And on top of that, what am I supposed to do without a sword? Anyway, I have Master Katsura's permission, Shakkuu- san. From now on, I intend to search out the way of protecting those who live in the new age, without killing."  
  
Shakkuu looked at the once Hitokiri, and smirked. "Hmm. If there is such a way, I'd like to know it too." Kenshin fell silent. "You can't just run away from all the lives you've taken after so long. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword. That should be the only way you can follow."  
  
Shakkuu suddenly threw the sword he was resting on his shoulder at Kenshin, who caught it despite being surprised.  
  
"This is a goodbye present. It can't hurt, even though it's probably too much for you." Shakkuu turned his back to the other man. "Try being a swordsman with that at your waist. You'll find out how deeply you believe what you just said."  
  
Silently, Kenshin drew the sword and discovered that its blade was reversed.  
  
"When that sword breaks, if you still believe that weak joke of yours, come see me again in Kyoto." Shakkuu said finally, walking away. Re-sheathing the sword and sliding it into his obi, Kenshin turned away and walked in the opposite direction. A reversed edge sword.  
  
End 


	3. Chapter 2: The Death of a Powerful Man

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu [By: Tenken86]  
  
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and its characters do not belong to me, so please do not sue me!! I finally made my own character :P. Is it okay that.. hmm. okay, I used a name from the manga Naruto for him but. couldn't think of other but it sounds good :P :P must add then.. Naruto and its characters do not belong to me.. I just borrowed a name.  
  
Rating : PG (violence) this chapter is technically beginning the rk storyline but its a short one and doesn't have that much violence in it. unless if u assume what happened. ay yo yo.. just read the fic and maybe write a review tellin me if it should be PG or watever. thanks!!  
  
Chapter 2 "The Death of A Powerful Man"  
  
Tokyo, a city full of people, busy working in the Meiji government. Trying to invite people into a restaurant, a lady talked to the passerby's.  
  
"Come and have some food at the Akabeko!" Tae said, waving a hand at a passing merchant. "I guarantee you will enjoy yourself!" A hand pulled at her kimono. "..? Oh, Tsubame, what is it?"  
  
"There's a customer who wants to talk to you." Tsubame said, holding a circular tray against her own brightly colored kimono. Tae nodded and walked back inside the restaurant, with the Tsubame behind her.  
  
'Yahiko- chan. I wonder what you're doing now.'  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
The Kamiya Dojo was situated in Tokyo. Two men stood outside the building, along with a girl and a small boy. The man with reddish orange hair put his sword into his obi and then banged the boy on the head with a basket of laundry.  
  
"Hang these up, Yahiko," Kenshin said. "I'm going to Governor Okubo now." The girl turned around and looked at the rurouni with a shocked expression.  
  
"Why?" Kaoru asked, "He's coming here."  
  
"Governor Okubo is a very busy man." Kenshin said, smiling. "It'll be quicker if I go to him." A lady dressed in a kimono and a michiyuki hurried up to the group.  
  
"Oh, you're here. Good morning, Ken-san." Megumi said, carrying a small bag in her hand. The man with a red headband and the sign of evil on his back turned to her.  
  
"What's the vixen doing up so early?" Sanosuke asked, watching the fox ears pop out of Megumi's head.  
  
"How dare you speak like that to the person who saved your life!" A vein popped on Sano's head.  
  
"I saved yours too." An identical vein popped up on Megumi's.  
  
"That's different for men and women." Megumi said, staring at Sanosuke. Kaoru pointed at the bag the other lady held.  
  
"What on earth is that?"  
  
"Today's the day of Ken-san's reply." Megumi said, smiling. "I brought something useful for this day."  
  
"Oro?" Suddenly, Kenshin had a collar attached to a chain on his neck. "Special Technique "Ken-san Capture!"" Megumi said, chain in hand. "Now he definitely can't go to Kyoto, and if necessary, I brought some sleeping powder.."  
  
"Go home!!!" Kaoru shouted.  
  
"..." Kenshin, who was in semi-shock.  
  
"Hey, now you're the dog, Kenshin." Yahiko said, holding out a hand. "C'mon, shake."  
  
'Women.' thought Sanosuke. Kenshin removed the collar around his neck.  
  
"Anyway, I'm leaving."  
  
"But do you know where Okubo's mansion is?" Kaoru asked him.  
  
"No, but I heard he's going to the Cabinet in Akasaka." Kenshin said, smiling. "If I go to Kioizaka I can probably meet up with him."  
  
"Well, then we'll go with you!" Kaoru shouted at him.  
  
Kenshin looked back at her with a soft smile. "No . . . things could get complicated, so it's better if I go alone." The four people whose lives were affected by this man silently watched him walk out the gate.  
  
"It's all right." Yahiko said with a serious face. "Kenshin wouldn't go off to Kyoto and leave you. An equally serious Sanosuke agreed with the kid.  
  
"Yeah.Kenshin wouldn't have any part of an assassination in this day and age."  
  
"I won't let him go," Megumi said, clutching the bag, "even if I have to use force to stop him." Kaoru stood thinking to herself.  
  
'But . . . if Governor Okubo's story is true, then Kenshin can't leave Shishio Makoto alone if he's going to cause another war. Then Hitokiri Battousai will have to kill Shishio Makoto.'  
  
Kenshin walked down the road with leaves blowing around him, and a serious face.  
  
'Kenshin . . .'  
  
Kioisaka--This hill's name comes from the neighboring Houses of Kishuu, Bishuu and Ii. It originated with the wall built around the daimyos' mansions, and both long ago and today is one of the best districts in Tokyo.  
  
Okubo Toshimichi, the most powerful man in the Meiji government, was traveling along this road by coach on the morning of May 14, 1880. Unknowingly awaiting his destiny.  
  
Okubo sat in the coach with a cane resting in his hands. An older man with thick hair and mustache, he thought to himself about his meeting with the former hitokiri.  
  
'Today's meeting will be long. And there's still work to be done at the department. I'll meet with Himura this evening.'  
  
Lounging in a tree further up the road, a man's black eyes flickered open. 'He's finally here.' The man stood up and stretched while balancing on the branch, grabbing something in his left hand.  
  
'He'll probably do it.' Okubo thought, eyes closed. 'No . . . he has to. If Himura doesn't act~'  
  
A light thump came from above him, but Okubo, deep in thought, did not hear the small sound.  
  
'~The country will be destroyed.' Suddenly, the coach's door opened and a young man looked in. His black hair was tied back in a small ponytail and his bangs hung out half hiding his eyes. His dark blue kimono contrasted with the metal pole he held in his left hand, and leant against his shoulder.  
  
"The dead don't need to worry about the future of the country." The young man gave a half smirk and clamped his right hand over Okubo's mouth. "I have a message from Shishio-sama.  
  
'It was a good idea to send Himura Battousai to assassinate me, but in the end it will only be struggling in vain. This country will be mine.'"  
  
With his left hand, he held the staff, then twisted a small section of it with his thumb slightly. Okubo's eyes widened as a inch long blade appeared, as if by magic, from the tip of the staff. His expression turned to one of terror as the blade leveled itself with his forehead.  
  
'Shishio Ma~' Okubo's last thought was brutally cut in half by the blade stabbing into his forehead. The young man released his grip over the man's mouth and saw it was wide open in a noiseless scream.  
  
Bracing his hand once again against the corpse's mouth, he yanked the blade out and cleaned it off with a cloth. The blade disappeared wraithlike into the staff as the man looked up past the walls of the closed in carriage. 'It's time.'  
  
From the bushes on the roadside, men spring out and in front of the carriage. One man held a wakazashi out, while the others drew theirs. "I am the samurai Shimada Ichirou of the Ishikawa province!"  
  
The other man whipped out his sword. "Chou Tsurahide of the same! Okubo, prepare yourself!" A scream rang out as blood splashed.  
  
"All right," Shimada shouted, "the coachman is no more!! Come on!" Shimada pulled open the carriage door and jumped back as Okubo's corpse fell out, staining the earth crimson. One of the samurai murmured their thoughts out loud.  
  
"He . . .he's dead . . . Someone got here before us."  
  
"What happened." another replied. "What are we going to do? We already sent the death-threats to the government and the newspapers." Shimada's frown increased.  
  
"No matter what," he said slowly, "we brought Okubo down."  
  
"Shimada?" The leader raised his wakazashi and viciously brought it down on the dead corpse.  
  
"There were no witnesses!" Shimada shouted. Others joined in. "We killed Okubo!!"  
  
May 14, 1880--The Incident at Kioisaka. Japanese history states that the most powerful man in the Meiji government was assassinated in broad daylight. The assassins were seven discontented Ishikawa samurai. And so, the existence of Shishio's faction, who took advantage of the prior notice of the assassination attempt, was never revealed.  
  
A crowd of people gathered around the policemen who covered the body with a rush mat, missing the top of his head. Kenshin looked at the body incredulously.  
  
"Okubo." Kenshin murmured. Suddenly, the young man with the pole leaning against his shoulder came out of the crowd and stood next to Kenshin.  
  
"If you don't want to die too, for your own sake, don't defy Shishio-sama." Kenshin, turned quickly to the voice, but nobody out of the ordinary was there. One man in a dark blue kimono and white hakama walked away slowly from the crowd, not attracting any attention, not drawing a single eye to himself.  
  
"Shishio Makoto." Kenshin said, staring at nowhere with angry eyes.  
  
End  
  
Ay yo yo! I finally got another chapter done.. I was planning to write a bit more.. but one of my friends said dat this was enough. this is just introducing my character.. Hehe, u don't know his name yet! :P I think I'm gonna give him a chapter bout himself.. Oh oh.. I think I know wat I'm gonna name it.. ^_^ how do u people like this chapter? A little bit violent. not really though..rite? hmm hmmm. would people want me to make it more violent or stay Rkish.violent but not like.. blood spewing everywhere. hmmm. feedback is very good! :P  
  
arigatou to da people who wrote review for my fic! :P my first fanfic and I have 6 review. I so happy lah.. Thank u! (its self confidence boost..don't get too full of urself!! *bonks self on head*). Also u people make me feel like writin an continuin this fic because or else I'd be writing it for myself.. And reviewing it myself.. which would be kinda dumb... hehe. ja ne!! 


	4. Chapter 3: Devoted

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu [By: Tenken86]  
  
Disclaimer: Watsuki's characters don't belong to me. Only 1 character in this does, so nobody steal him! (like anyone would want to. -_-) I also don't own Naruto or its character, I only borrowed his name!!  
  
Rating : PG (language, violence) this chapter is not on the RK storyline.. so I'm not sure how this is gonna turn out. and I try to rate before ritin lah. so not sure wat's gonna happen.. maybe flashback..-_-  
  
Wow. this is the shortest title I've had so far.. ^_^ well.. u can use my character if u ask.. :P wait.. why would anyone want to.. they haven't heard of him yet.  
  
Chapter 3 "Devoted"  
  
The young man wandered down the streets of Tokyo, his metal staff leaning against his shoulder. His black eyes flicked over the stalls and the objects within.  
  
'I bet Yumi-nechan would like that.' He thought, pausing. 'On the other hand, if I get it now. it may get broken.' Shrugging, he continued on his journey, which ended at the Kamiya Dojo.  
  
Giving a half smile at a small boy who held his sister's hand like a vice, he looked up at the sky and sighed. 'I won't be able to get there before nightfall. And there's no rush.' Looking for an inn, he found one, paid for a room, and allowed himself to be guided there.  
  
'This looks.a lot like the room I had as a kid.'  
  
Flashback:  
  
"Yumi-nechan! Nechan!!" he shouted, running at his sister, who turned to him.  
  
"Neji-chan," Yumi began, holding up her hands slightly in protest, but the boy jumped at her.  
  
"Your kimono's so pretty nechan!" he said, in midair.  
  
"NEJI!!!" The siblings landed hard in a pile, on the hard wooden floor in their shared room. "Neji-chan no baka!" Yumi said, bonking him on the head. "You messed up my kimono! Mom will be angry! She bought it for the New Years festival!"  
  
"Huh? But that's in a few weeks!" Neji said, jumping off of Yumi. "Dad hasn't said anything to me about it."  
  
In the other room, Komagata and his wife, Natsu listened to their children's conversation. Smiling to one another, Natsu left the room to cook dinner, while Komagata stayed, shuffling through some papers.  
  
'New Years is in only a short time. two.two and a half weeks.' Komagata thought, pulling out one paper that caused him much distress. 'Tani-san is expecting me to. no, I am expecting myself to, I have to pay back the debt I owe him before New Years day. Or else.'  
  
"Dad!!" Neji shouted, from behind the paper door. "Tani-san's here to see you!" Komagata stood up quickly, taking the papers and putting them in a closet, closing the screen, he went outside. His little, ten year old son guided him to the guest.  
  
"Komagata." Tani said, kneeling on the floor and accepting tea from Natsu. "Arigatou." Natsu bowed and left the room. "Komagata, I know that I've come quite late."  
  
"Don't worry about it Tani-san." Komagata said, kneeling on the floor across from the other man. "What did you come here to talk to me about?" Tani inhaled as if to prepare himself for something.  
  
"I know how you feel about the debt." He said, placing his hands on his brown pants, which matched his jacket. "But I feel that.you have a family to feed, to clothe, you have two children."  
  
Neji poked his head around the still open door and listened, unnoticed by either adult.  
  
"You should...forget about the debt you owe me." Tani finished what he had planned to say, after being said with great difficulty. Komagata kept his head down and his eyes were not able to be seen. "Komagata?"  
  
'Dad.you owe this man money? What for?' Neji thought, leaning into the room a bit further. "Uh oh." he said, falling into the room. "Itai!!"  
  
"Neji," Komagata said, "what are you doing? Please, we are talking about important matters." Neji nodded his head, bowed, and left, closing the door behind him.  
  
"Tani-san...I am a man of honor. I said that I would repay you when I asked to borrow money. I gave you my word," Komagata looked up and gazed at Tani with calm, clear brown eyes, "and I intend to keep it."  
  
*Two weeks later*  
  
Neji and Yumi lay in their futons across the room from each other. "Nechan."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I can't sleep." Neji said, turning over to face his sister. She turned to face him also. He grinned widely. "New Years is coming up in." He counted on his fingers. "Four days!" She smiled back at him softly.  
  
"Just try to sleep, you wouldn't want to pass out while cleaning the house or decorating it, would you, Neji-chan?" He shook his head and flopped over onto his other side.  
  
"Nechan, oyasumi"  
  
"Oyasumi." Yumi said, watching the form of her little brother fall into the realm of dreams. 'How can that boy fall asleep so fast. His head touches the pillow and he's off and.asleep.'  
  
Komagata sat in his room, a lantern burning on his desk, casting a faint light on him and the desk at which he sat. Natsu lay already asleep in the futon, while he burned the midnight oil, poring through his papers.  
  
'It should have arrived by now.' He growled to himself. 'This shipment, from Tokyo, it was supposed to come four days ago.' He held the order form for various items that would have been sold in his store. 'Damn.damn.damn!!'  
  
He slammed his fist against the desk, waking his wife up with a shock.  
  
"Dear." Natsu said, wiping her eyes. "What's wrong? You're still awake?" He turned to her and apologized for waking her. Natsu got out of the futon and walked over to the desk.  
  
"You're still worrying over the debt, aren't you." She said, making it sound more like a statement than a question. "I'm sure your shipment will come in, and we'll be able to pay off the debt before New Years." Komagata sighed loudly.  
  
"I guess you're right."  
  
*The Day Before New Years*  
  
"Dear please, Tani-san said that he would forget the debt!"  
  
"No.I gave my word. and I couldn't get the money. It's all my fault." Komagata said, kneeling in his room. His wife hovered over him.  
  
"It's not your fault.It's also mine!" Natsu said, holding onto him. "We both were at fault. Now.what will we do.?" Komagata looked up, with guilt in his eyes.  
  
"There's only one thing we can do." he said, taking his father's sword out from a cabinet. Not thinking about the consequences, he drew the sword out.  
  
Neji ran through the house, despite his sister's warnings about falling, wearing his new kimono and hakama.  
  
"Neji-chan! Matte!!" Yumi shouted, taking off her shoes and jogging after him, also in her new kimono. A thump echoed through the house. Yumi walked up to Neji, who was sprawled out on the floor.  
  
"Itai." Yumi helped her brother up and they continued to their parents' room. "Mom, Dad! It's day before New Years! Time to clean up the house with this!" Yumi said, holding up a broom bound in red and white string.  
  
'Neji's enthusiasm is catching. I sound like a little kid.' There was no response from the room. Neji looked at his sister uncertainly.  
  
"Nechan, are they still sleeping? It's nine in the morning.they're usually up before then." She shrugged, and knocked on the paper door.  
  
"Dad, Mom!" Yumi said. She saw the filmy view of two people laying on the floor. "It looks like they're still asleep. Neji-chan, we should wait for them to wake up." She put a hand on his shoulder to lead him away.  
  
"Iie." Neji said shortly, grabbing his sister's wrist. "There's something...wrong." His ten-year old features were serious. "We should.go check on them." Yumi looked down at her brother, then sighed.  
  
"You'll be the one to get the blame," she said, letting Neji take a hold on the door. He nodded then slid it open slowly. Brown eyes widened with shock. Neji walked into the room slowly.  
  
His teeth were bared in a animal like fashion and his eyes were angry, or sad, it was hard to tell.  
  
"No.way." Yumi mumbled, her black eyes wide and tears forming rapidly. Komagata laid face-down on the floor, the mats soaked in blood. The sword that he had taken his life with, was impaled in his wife's chest.  
  
To stay with her husband, to be with him. she had also taken her own life. She half knelt, propped up by the sword, used by her father in law to fight, now used in suicide. The whole room stank of blood, the mats were soaked in it, the crimson flow still ran from the wounds in the parents' bodies.  
  
"Dad!!!" Neji screamed. "Mom!!" He ran to their sides and tried to shake them. "Dad! Mom! Wake up!!" He turned his father over and saw his glassy, brown eyes. He shook the still form.  
  
'They can't be. no way!!!'  
  
"Please!!! Please wake up.." His legs gave way and he fell into a kneeling position, his arms on his father's chest.  
  
'Wake up.'  
  
Tears dropped from his wide eyes, and leaked down his face, onto his father's chest, mixing with the blood. Yumi's legs gave way, still in the doorway, she fell into a half kneeling, half sitting position.  
  
Tears leaked from her eyes, her whole body quivered. "No.no way." she mumbled from a quivering mouth. Her hands hit the floor and her head hung, hair falling out of the clip that held it. "MOM!! DAD!!"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Upon hearing the screams, the neighbors dropped their sealed brooms and ran to see what happened. The first man who reached the door was a family friend, who took off his shoes and came in cautiously.  
  
"Komagata? What's happening? I heard screams?" he said, walking around the house, noting the visible lack of decorations for New Years. The house seemed dead quiet except for the faint sound of inhaling.  
  
'Inhaling? The man thought. No...it's...crying! They're crying! It sounds like Neji and Yumi!!' He ran through the house towards the sound, hearing others following him. "Yumi! Neji!" he shouted.  
  
He came to a halt outside Komagata's room. He saw Yumi kneeling there, her head hung and her sobs racking through her. He looked over her and into an unthinkable scene. "No way."  
  
'What...Why. Who did this?!' He thought, clenching a fist and walking around Yumi rapidly. 'Maybe.' His treacherous mind thought desperately. 'Maybe they're still alive! No hope of that.with all this blood.'  
  
"Neji."  
  
"Dad." Neji moaned. "Mom.."  
  
The police came, with sabers at their side, and cleared the way. They came upon the room with the neighbor, the dead corpses, and the two children.  
  
"Suicide?" One said, looking at the sword impaled in the woman. Another policeman walked into the room and checked to see if the adults were alive. Shaking his head he attempted to pull the boy away from the dead man.  
  
"Kid, c'mon!" the man said, grabbing hold of Neji's shoulders. "Let's get you outside and out of this room!" Yumi had already been taken outside and Neji was dragged along too.  
  
Neji looked at his bloodstained hands, dyed red with his father's blood. The sun was bright in his eyes, and he heard a voice calling him, asking him.  
  
"Excuse me, sir!" a voice called from outside the room. Neji jumped, shocked, and realized he was standing in the middle of his room, and there was a lady outside. He shook his head rapidly, and slid open the door.  
  
"What is it?" he said, looking down at her. She held out a tray. He nodded, thanked her, and took the tray into the room, closing the door behind him. Putting down the tray and kneeling in front of it, he began to eat.  
  
The food tasted like ashes. Was the first thought that came to Neji's mind, as he ate the food provided generously by a neighbor. It was a few days after the end of the celebrations, and the generosity was ebbing.  
  
"We'll have to sell the house." Yumi said, putting down her chopsticks, attempting to sound grownup. 'I'm the oldest.I have to try to take care of Neji.'  
  
"And I'll find somewhere to work. You should also find something to do." Her younger brother hung his head while eating, his eyes shadowed by his bangs that escaped being tied back by a blue band of fabric.  
  
"Not here." Neji said shortly. "Not in this town. I can't live here." He looked up, his brown eyes unreadable. Brown eyes met black. Yumi nodded.  
  
"We'll leave, as soon as possible."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"You want to work here girl?" The lady in charge asked, looking at Yumi with a strange look. An even glare was directed at Neji, who was standing behind his sister. Yumi looked up and met the older woman's stare.  
  
"Hai, Yuki-san." Yumi said.  
  
"How old are you?" Yuki asked, looking the girl up and down. 'Must have run away from home, from the looks of it.' She glanced at Neji again. 'Younger brother?'  
  
"17, Yuki-san." Yumi replied, still looking clearly at Yuki, who was in charge of the geisha house. 'We have to get this...iie...I have to get this job. Maybe.Neji will be allowed to help around also.'  
  
Yuki, seeing the determination in the girl's eyes, sighed. "Fine, come in. You can't do anything in your state, we have to get you fed up." Yuki said, walking inside.  
  
"In the meanwhile, you can help out in the kitchen. We also have to get you some nice kimonos...no man would enjoy being served by someone with clothes in that condition."  
  
Yumi looked down at her kimono, which was torn and dirty beyond repair. 'Well. I have been traveling with Neji-chan for a long time. And haven't hand enough money to repair anything.'  
  
"Yuki-san. about my little brother."  
  
"What's his name?" Yuki asked, looking over her shoulder at the boy dressed in a dirty white kimono and ragged black hakama. Slung over his shoulder were two traveling bags, which appeared to be quite heavy.  
  
The boy stood evenly on his feet, seemingly not noticing the weight. "Komagata Neji." He said, looking up. "And I'll do anything to help Yumi- nechan out! I'll~"  
  
"He can help out with the cooking also. Maybe go to the market and get food for us, he looks like he can carry heavy things." Yuki said, eyeing the boy again, before continuing her walk.  
  
"I'll give you two a room to share. Small, mind you. You eat with the rest of the girls." Yumi opened her mouth. "Neji also. After you learn some manners and the etiquette of being a geisha, maybe you'll go higher than kitchen duty."  
  
'Yumi-nechan looked so angry that day.' Neji thought, munching on the food given to him by the lady. 'Once Yuki-san turned around.her face was all scrunched up and angry. I remember...how sad she was...I don't want her to feel like that again.' Neji frowned at an image of Himura Kenshin, which was suspended in his vision.  
  
'Feh.. if Battousai tries to interrupt anything. that Shishio-sama is involved in. I'll kill him.' Finishing off the food, Neji stood up and stretched. 'Yumi-nechan loves Shishio-sama.If Battousai wants to kill Shishio-sama. He's.trying to hurt Yumi-nechan. I'll protect her.'  
  
Neji sighed and shook his head. Picking up his staff, he leant against the wall, with the staff against his left shoulder, and promptly fell asleep.  
  
End  
  
For all the Chinese readers (if there are any Chinese.wait. if there are any readers.) GONG XI FA CAI! XIN NIEN KUAI LE! Aggg!! I can't believe I wrote that!! (so violent lah. hits self on head).. there u go, u finally know the name of the mysterious person, who I kept on calling 'young man' cause I wanted to give him a chapter for himself.. Um, if ur wondering why the parents would kill themselves over somethin like a debt, and why in the new year. Its cause (I read dis in a book) that "Debts are paid-a moral, not a legal, obligation, but a custom so strongly rooted that people unable to meet their financial obligations at this time have been known to commit suicide." Ay ya.. sounds weird but. I didn't know anythin about yumi's past but. I made it all up! :P ohh.. about the name of the mom.. I took it from the name of the princess in watsuki's extra story #3. and since I said none of his characters belong to me. I used dat. and yuki who owns the geisha house was from. yuki miaka.. fushigi yuugi cause I was desperately thinking of a name.... (reading naruto): ohh!! Its neji-san!! Its komagata neji- san!! No wait! (bonks self on head) idiot! That's in my fic!!! This is neji and hinata!!!! Thanks people who actually read my fic.. :P and wrote reviews! Happy happy. hehe.. oh well.. not sure where this is going now but.. I'll try to write faster for the people who (are not. probably. *sniff sniff*) reading this!! (I am being sarcastic.. I hope people are readin this..) arigatou!! 


	5. Chapter 4:The Okashira

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and its characters' don't belong to me. The name Neji from Naruto also doesn't belong to me. I'm not making any money off of this. so don't sue me!!!  
  
Rating : PG violence, maybe language  
  
Chapter 4 "The Okashira"  
  
Komagata Neji walked through the forest, his black eyes slowly scanning the trees, the bushes, and everything around him.  
  
'I guess they're late.can't have that. Shishio-sama told me to hire them. and if they're not here what can I do'. Neji blinked. 'One...two.three, four, it's them.' He turned around and walked towards the 'ki' forms of the men he planned to meet.  
  
Four large stones sat like eggs upon mounds, under which the heads of the dead Oniwabanshuu lay, resting. The Abukuma Foursome sat nearby the clearing, four large men who towered over Neji.  
  
'These fools think that they're strong enough to protect Shishio-sama.'  
  
"So you're the man sent from Shishio-sama?" one man said, opening a box of food. He smirked. "Or are you a police, come to spy on us?" He picked up his ax and standing up.  
  
'With four of them, it may be a hard fight.but I doubt it. If they were smart and planned their moves before a fight. They could never protect Yumi- nechan's happiness.'  
  
"Ah. Shishio-sama says that you must meet with Shinomori Aoshi and persuade him to come for a...meeting." Neji said, grabbing his staff with his left hand and resting in against the shoulder again. "You may resort to violence...if you wish."  
  
He looked at the sake being unpacked. "Are you sure you can fight drunk and full of food?" The foursome glared at him.  
  
"We enjoy some food before we kill the man," one said, guzzling some sake. "Shishio-sama understands this."  
  
'And understands that you're going to be killed by Shinomori.' Neji thought. 'Expendable.' Neji nodded and turned around, leaving the clearing and the graves to the four giants. 'They're so proud of their prowess.' Neji thought, breaking a branch in half with a sweep of his staff.  
  
'They can't believe that they'd be beaten...Shinomori isn't such a weakling that he'd lose to the likes of them.' He walked through the forest, enjoying the peace and tranquillity of it. 'I'll go check on the Kamiya Dojo. Himura already left for Kyoto, as well as his friends.'  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Megumi stared at the door of the Kamiya Dojo, not noticing the man who watched her from a tree outside of the dojo's walls.  
  
"So in the end I'm the only one left behind." She said, looking at the dojo. "And on top of that, I have to look after the dojo. What am I doing..." Megumi rested her hand on the door, and it creaked open.  
  
'It's open.Then why did they leave me the key?' She blinked. 'Did they come back to get something? Or maybe...Ken-san came back!'  
  
Neji watched as the doctor threw open the doors and fell into a crouching position.  
  
'The . . . the Oniwabanshuu Okashira . . . Shinomori Aoshi . . . Megumi thought, panic flooding over her like a tidal wave.  
  
"Where has Battousai disappeared to?" Aoshi asked, turning his black gaze on the lady.  
  
'So that's Shinomori Aoshi.' Neji thought. 'He doesn't look the type to help Shishio-sama.maybe if I try to persuade him.'  
  
"I . . . I . . ." Megumi stuttered, memories of Kanryuu flashing through her mind. Aoshi kneeled by her side.  
  
"Where is Battousai? Answer me." Aoshi said. Neji took out a telescope and gazed through it at Shinomori.  
  
'His eyes.are dead. He's a killer...if he kills Himura, Shishio-sama won't have to worry about him.' Neji smirked to himself.  
  
'He wants Ken-san dead...' Megumi thought. "I . . . I don't know." Aoshi lifted a hand and placed it close to her cheek, sending another wave of fright through the doctor.  
  
'He knows how to scare people.' Neji thought to himself. A grin. 'He'd work well with Shishio-sama...interrogate people before you kill them.I could learn something from him.' Neji felt something from outside the dojo. 'A strong ki.'  
  
"If you don't answer me." Aoshi said ominously. "I'll kill you." Neji looked up as a man walked unnoticed through the door of the dojo.  
  
"Battousai's gone to Kyoto." The man said, dressed in a police uniform. Aoshi looked up from his kneeling position.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Fujita Gorou. As you can see, I'm just a policeman. Don't stare. I'll tell you what's happened, since you've been holed up in the mountains up till now." Fujita said.  
  
'Fujita Gorou?' Neji thought. 'Is that what he's calling himself now.? Saitou Hajime.'  
  
"All right. Tell me." Aoshi said, standing up with the long sword in his hand. Neji watched as the two men began to talk about his master.  
  
'Is he going to persuade Shinomori to help fight Shishio-sama.If so I should attack them now.When they least expect.' He blinked as the conversation slowed.  
  
"Shishio Makoto."  
  
Saitou smirked. "You can believe me or not, but Battousai has undoubtedly gone to Kyoto." Aoshi seemed to accept this, because he turned away.  
  
"If so, I'll come again when Battousai has returned." Aoshi said, walking away, trench coat blowing in the wind.  
  
"Maybe he won't come back." Saitou replied, watching the man's back with a strange look on his face. "Maybe Shishio will kill him." Aoshi paused, then continued walking.  
  
"That cannot be. I am the only one who will kill Battousai." Another smirk from Saito..on that poker face.  
  
Neji thought again, watching the two men like they were actors. 'Shinomori would be a great help to Shishio- sama.And there's a greater chance Himura Battousai won't meddle in his affairs...especially if he's dead.'  
  
"You have great self-confidence." Saitou said as Aoshi passed by him. "But . . . perhaps not over-confident." Aoshi closed his eyes and walked outside.  
  
'I'd better go see how the Four idiots are doing.They better not have run away or wandered off.' Neji stood up on the branch carefully, putting away the telescope, when the shout of the doctor came to his ears, causing him to pause.  
  
"What were you just talking to him for, you worthless cop! He's a dangerous man! All he thinks about is killing Ken-san!"  
  
'A cop? What policeman carries around a katana. Himura has fools for companions.'  
  
"If I hadn't been talking to him, that dangerous man would have killed you." Saitou said.  
  
"Dangerous, but one who became the Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu at the age of fifteen is certainly talented. I'm just wondering whether or not we can use him." Saitou smirked in the direction that Aoshi had left.  
  
Neji grinned also. "My sentiments exactly. Shinomori Aoshi . . . certainly a useful man." Neji said out loud, knowing they would not hear him. Neji stood up on the branch and jumped down, landing and breaking into a run at the same moment.  
  
'Damn, now I have to catch up to Shinomori.'  
  
Aoshi stepped into the clearing, and into unpleasant memories. He blinked, as he saw four huge forms sitting in the area, eating and drinking. Over the graves.  
  
"So I came with this woman." One said, drinking some sake. They did not seem to notice the man in a trench coat who had entered the clearing.  
  
"Next time I get to meet her!" The other said, eating more food, spilling it on the ground. One of the men noticed the new figure and stood up.  
  
"He's here, he's here." He said, grinning.  
  
"You're late, we've been waiting for you, Shinomori Aoshi."  
  
"Who are you." Aoshi said, looking at them with a darker than usual glare. Neji arrived on the scene, slightly panting. He grinned.  
  
'I made it.'  
  
"We're from the glorious Shishio-sama. The Abukuma Foursome." Neji smirked  
  
'The four idiots. I prefer that name a lot more.'  
  
"Shishio-sama wants to meet with you, face to face." The man who first noticed him said, looking down at Aoshi. "Even we only meet with him once a year, it's a great honor. So come. Shishio-sama's waiting."  
  
"If you want to see someone, you go see him yourself." Aoshi said. "Go back and tell him that. If that's all, go back, and never set foot on this ground again. If you ever profane it again," he looked up with a glare that made them blink, "I'll kill you and your Shishio."  
  
Neji blinked as silence reigned supreme in the clearing. 'Shinomori kill Shishio-sama? Feh, impossible.' One of the foursome suddenly spat onto one of the egg shaped rocks.  
  
"Don't get too cocky just because you've got some skills, boy!" he said, glaring back at Aoshi. "It's bad enough to say you'd kill us. But to say you'd kill Shishio-sama..This crime deserves death!!"  
  
'Oh no...those idiots aren't going to~' Neji thought. The foursome grabbed their axes and rushed at the lone man. 'Yup, they are.'  
  
"Those who mock Shishio-sama shall not be permitted to live!"  
  
'Shall not be permitted...they sound.noble.?' Neji blinked as Aoshi raised his sword. 'Finally, I get to see his fighting technique!' Neji leaned forwards.  
  
'A long sword.' One of the foursome thought. 'He's changed his weapon since he lost to Battousai. But no matter what he carries.one sword can't defeat our foursome technique!'  
  
Aoshi grabbed the handle of the sword, and the end of the sheath. And. drew both sides.  
  
'Two kodachis in one sheath! It can't be.' Neji grinned. 'Two swords...two kodachis..'  
  
Kodachi Nitouryuu (Two kodachi-style)  
  
Neji watched as the Abukuma Foursome were slaughtered by the two kodachi technique. Aoshi paused and lowered his kodachis.  
  
'Now.' Neji thought, stepped out from behind the tree he was hiding behind. "I'm impressed." He said, looking at Aoshi. 'They were just lackeys but.he disposed of them very quickly.' "They didn't even have the chance to use their instant four-in-one technique."  
  
"Are you one of Shishio's pawns too?" Aoshi said, turning to Neji, raising the kodachis again. Neji nodded.  
  
"Yes. Komagata Neji. I'm one of his advisors." He said, resting the staff against his shoulder. He smirked. "But that really was impressive. If you'd just come with me and listen to what we've got to say."  
  
Aoshi frowned. "Get lost. I don't intend to work for anybody." He said, glaring. "Especially for a man who'd sacrifice his men to test an opponent's strength." Neji smirked.  
  
"So, you noticed?" he said, looking at the other man. "But you must be fairly cruel as well, if you knew they were sacrifices and didn't think twice about killing them." Silence.  
  
Neji shrugged. "Well, all right. If you feel like it, come to Kyoto. We'll be waiting for you." Neji turned as if to go, then paused and looked over his shoulder. "If you see the era change a second time and miss being in the center of it again, you'll bring shame to the name of Oniwabanshuu Okashira." Aoshi blinked.  
  
'Hit a spot, didn't I, Shinomori?' Neji thought, walking off. Aoshi stood in the clearing, unmoving and silent. 'He's interested. I can tell.' Neji thought, walking. 'But he needs something else to get him..' He entered another clearing.  
  
"What do you think of him, Shishio-sama?" A man is sitting underneath a large umbrella, wrapped in bandages. Burns are visible through the gaps, his mouth being uncovered and burnt, he is being fed by a woman in a off- the-shoulders kimono. Neji looked at Yumi, and saw how she smiled at Shishio while feeding him.  
  
"I like him." Shishio Makoto said. "Especially the way he cut them down like they were trash." Neji nodded, and watched while his sister fed Shishio another piece of food. Yumi looked up and smiled at Neji.  
  
'Yumi- nechan.' Neji grinned back. "He doesn't seem easily tempted. What.should I do now?" Neji asked, leaning against his staff, which was ground into the dirt and grass. Shishio took a drink of sake.  
  
"Hmm.." he drank some more sake. "It's still a little early to greet my Hitokiri predecessor." Neji nodded. A grin broke out on Shishio's face.  
  
"Shishio-sama.you're enjoying this?" Neji asked, blinking at Shishio.  
  
"In a way."  
  
Aoshi stood in the clearing, having cleaned it of the dead bodies, food, drink, and most of the blood. The faces of his dead comrades flashed through his mind.  
  
"Kyoto." he said, looking at the tombstones. "If I am to lay this flower at your graves, it would be better to do it soon."  
  
A man in a cloak looked at the fires, flames dancing in his eyes.  
  
'Something's not right. There's a tension in the air.even here.'  
  
"More wood. The flames need to be higher." A man dressed in a light blue kimono and dark blue hakama nodded and stood up, walking to a pile of cut wood and bringing some over.  
  
"How much, Hiko-sensei?" A smile appeared, while he stood with wood in his arms.  
  
"More, baka." Hiko said, still watching the flames. Chunks of wood were sacrificed to the fires, which rose slightly. "Soujiro, enough." Soujiro nodded, and sat back down smiling. Hiko looked behind him at the smiling student he had.  
  
"What're you doing idiot?!? Go and practice more!!" Soujiro blinked.  
  
"Ara? Practice.Shikuchi?" Soujiro said, smiling. "Or...Hiten Mitsurugi?" A vein stood out on Hiko's head.  
  
"Anything!!" he bellowed, standing up. Soujiro blinked, nodded, and jumped up.  
  
"Hai! Hiko-sensei!!" Soujiro ran off and was gone. Hiko put a hand to his head.  
  
"Damn.What's with this feeling?" Hiko said, sighing. "Something bad's going to happen...sometime soon.I feel it."  
  
End  
  
Author's Notes: Damn! I started writing in 1st person when Neji said "My sentiments exactly. Shinomori Aoshi . . . certainly a useful man." Probably cause was writing my other fic. that would be bad if I left it like dat..the reader would be confused lah.. Also.not sure.how would you call Hiko if u were his student? Hiko sensei? Or is it the shishou one... I can't picture souchan calling anyone master. he only called Shishio Mister. I feel like puttin hiko-sensei.sound better.-_-. read and review pleaz.or tell me wat u think of it... is anyone reading this?? cause i'm gettin in like...a really bad mood...from a shitload of projects and chemistry work...and wondering if i should continue this.....tell me if ur reading this okay?? 


	6. Chapter 5: The Encounter

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and its characters' don't belong to me. The name Neji from the manga Naruto also is not one of my possessions. -_-;  
  
Rating : PG violence.  
  
"speaking"  
  
'thought'  
  
Chapter 5 "The Encounter"  
  
A young man in a dark blue kimono and white hakama strolled down a dusty path, passing families of farmers and merchants, carrying their goods to markets. Neji kept on walking a slow and steady pace, noting how happy the families looked together. An image of Yumi smiling and handing sake to Shishio appeared in front of Neji's vision.  
  
The roads changed from being surrounded by open grasslands and farms to forested areas. The grass crunched under his zori as he maneuvered his way around the trees that blocked his path. Neji stopped in a clearing and looked around, swinging his staff about absentmindedly.  
  
"If I remember correctly. . . I think the village is. . ." He turned around and ran forwards slightly, through a patch of trees and out onto a protruding piece of cliff that stuck out of the mountain. "Right here." Neji crouched down, resting his staff on his knees as he gazed down on the totally silent village. "Shingetsu village. . . I wonder where nechan ~" Neji stopped suddenly and narrowed his eyes, standing up and changing his grip to hold his staff with both hands.  
  
Neji thought, turning around to face the forests. Six men dressed in all black and masks covering their nose and mouths burst out of the trees, raising spears. One man with a ceremonial staff (AN: forgot what this was called.its like a stick with tassels on it?) shouted.  
  
"Die outsider!!" Neji sighed and shook his head, making his bangs drop and cover his eyes.  
  
"Fools, they don't recognize me?" Neji moved his head slightly back to dodge a wild swing from a soldier and stabbed the end of his staff against the man's throat, sending him crashing to the ground. While his staff was extended, another soldier rushed at him, spear leveled at Neji's chest. Neji calmly twisted the staff and the hidden blade came out, and he slashed the soldier in half.  
  
". . ..!!" The remaining soldiers backed off and lowered their staffs, avoiding the blood that leaked out of the once-soldier onto the green grass. The leader of the soldiers pulled down his cloth mask and stared at Neji's weapon.  
  
"Shinobi zue." he murmured, ignoring the dead soldier on the ground. Neji looked behind him as a huge man stepped out from behind a tree.  
  
"So you're that kid Shishio-sama was talking about?" the bullet- headed man said, walking easily towards Neji. "Neji. . ."  
  
"Komagata Neji." The young man replied, wiping his blade on the dead man's gi and hiding it again. "You're Senkaku, am I right?" The huge man grinned and lifted the two blades that he wore like gloves on his hands.  
  
"I'm the person who controls Shingetsu village, Shishio-sama says he's waiting for you at the inn." Senkaku said, looking down on Neji, who shouldered his staff.  
  
"Is that so. . . an inn?" Senkaku smirked showing all his teeth then turned and started walking off.  
  
"Take that body and hang it up with the other two," he yelled over his shoulder to the leader of the soldiers. The leader nodded quickly and shouted to his remaining soldiers. "It'll be an example to our men."  
  
As Neji passed through the village, not a person was in sight. The dust clung to Neji's dark blue tabi as he followed the giant down the path to a large building surrounded by a high wall. Two soldiers with spears stood outside on guard and quickly opened the gate upon seeing Senkaku.  
  
"S-Senkaku-sama!" one shouted, coming to attention after the gate was opened. Senkaku walked by the man and headed towards a smaller building inside the grounds. Neji looked around at the buildings inside. Senkaku knocked on a wooden door and a familiar voice lazily called out for them to enter. The giant bullet headed man slid the door open for Neji, and slid it shut after him.  
  
Shishio Makoto sat on a pile of cushions while Yumi knelt next to him.  
  
"Ah! Neji-kun!" Yumi said happily, her face breaking out in a smile. Shishio nodded to his 'right hand man' as he inhaled smoke from a long stemmed pipe.  
  
"Neji. Why did it take you so long to reach Shingetsu?" Shishio asked, staring at the young man with a strong gaze. Neji scratched his head and lowered his staff to rest it against the ground.  
  
"You. . . you two did have a horse to ride. . ." Neji said, not meeting Shishio's eyes. "I was looking at the view." Yumi gave her little brother a warning look. "Ah. . . honto ni gomen nasai Shishio-sama!" Neji bowed down low to the man his sister loved. Shishio inhaled more smoke and closed his eyes thoughtfully.  
  
"Leave it. I'm going to go to the hot springs." Neji looked up questioningly.  
  
"Hot springs?" Shishio stood up and walked out of the room, Yumi following him and glancing quickly back at Neji once and nodding her head to tell him to follow them. Neji sighed and followed them.  
  
"This water makes the pain less. . ." Shishio's voice said, floating out from behind the screen door that hid the hot springs from the 'main room'.  
  
"Hai, Shishio-sama." Yumi's voice followed Shishio's out to reach Neji's ears. Neji leant against the screen door, wearing a white yukata, his staff leaning on the wall next to him. Neji blinked as he sensed someone's approach. He reached over towards his staff, but leant back again as a slightly fat man with hair standing on end entered, looking frightened and sweaty.  
  
"Who. . . who are you?" the man asked, wiping off his sweat with his wrist guarded arm. Neji smirked and stood up, grabbing his staff in one hand.  
  
"It's amazing how my weapon. . ." Neji twisted the staff and the six inch blade appeared. The man's eyes widened and he backed up slightly. "is more famous than I am."  
  
"Neji, stop playing around and tell me what's happening." Shishio said, sinking deeper into the hot spring, the steam rising about him. Neji grinned again and waved a hand towards the man.  
  
"Go ahead. Report to Shishio-sama." Neji said, leaning again against the screen door with the shinobi zue held in front of him.  
  
"Please, forgive me!" the spy shouted, going to his knees and bowing so his face nearly touched the floor. "At the Hakone peak Himura Battousai. . . suddenly entered the forest and we lost sight of him. We put our full efforts into searching for him, but . . .." Neji looked down at the man and then at the screen door.  
  
"Well, Shishio-sama?"  
  
"I'll let you go." Shishio replied, lifting a black hand out of the water. "After my first hot spring bath in half a year, I'm in a good mood." The man looked up with an incredulous look on his face. "But, go find him before I change my mind." A wide smile appeared on the sweaty man's face.  
  
"A. . . Arigatou Shishio-sama!!" the spy shouted, looking up from his bow. Neji stood up from his relaxed position and leaned over near the man, and smirked.  
  
"Congratulations. If you make the same mistake again," Neji tapped the blade his weapon against his cheek, "I won't be as forgiving." The inept spy's eyes widened again and he jumped to his feet and rushed out of the room, nearly colliding with a soldier who was entering the room.  
  
"Shishio-sama!" the soldier bellowed, running towards the screen door. Neji stepped in front of him quickly and smiled.  
  
"How may I help you? Shishio-sama is enjoying the hot springs right now." The soldier nodded quickly and pulled down his face mask, whispering into Neji's ear. Neji's eyes widened briefly and he dismissed the soldier, then walked towards the screen door. "Shishio-sama, we've just got news that two men are approaching this inn. One has a scar on his left cheek, and the other is a policeman who carries a katana."  
  
Shishio leant his back against the rocks. "I see . . . It's just like my predecessor to show up unannounced." Neji walked over to where his clothes were neatly folded inside a woven basket. "Bring them to me. And have Senkaku prepare the battleground."  
  
Neji blinked as he removed his yukata and put on his dark blue kimono. "Ah. . . hai Shishio-sama." Neji quickly finished getting dressed and tied up his hair with a piece of dark blue cloth. He reached out to get the shinobi zue when Shishio spoke out again.  
  
"Leave your weapon." Neji nodded quickly then ran out of the room, slipping on his zori as he went. He ran into the bullet-headed giant on his way and told him what Shishio wanted, then went to the gate. Neji dismissed the guards then stood outside alone. I hope Shishio-sama knows what he's doing. . . no weapon with Saitou and Battousai coming to meet me. . .?  
  
Neji yawned and shut his eyes, leaning against the gate, his black bangs covering his eyes. He looked up as he felt two large presence approaching. A smirk appeared on his face as he recognized them. He stepped away from the gate and saw them noticing him.  
  
"Himura Battousai and Saitou Hajime."  
  
End 


	7. Chapter 6: Before the Storm

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu  
[By: Tenken]  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, I only semi own Komagata Neji . . . ^_^ my character not the name lah.because Komagata is RK name and Neji is a Naruto name.  
  
Rating: PG for violence?  
  
A/N: This is a boring chapter.. *sweatdrops* isn't something I should say b4 giving the story ne? ah.its mostly talking.but I guess its ok ^_^  
  
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu  
Chapter Six  
"Before the storm"  
  
Himura Kenshin and Saitou Hajime stopped in their tracks, Kenshin's hand going towards the hilt of his sakabatou. Saitou smirked and looked over and down at his companion.  
  
"Nervous, Battousai?" he asked, looking at the young man guarding the gate.  
  
Kenshin thought to himself, then said out-loud "Saitou, be careful. . .This is the man who killed Governor Okubo." Saitou's glare sharpened on the normal looking man in front of them.  
  
"I'm just your guide today, Shishio-sama told me not to bring a weapon." Neji replied, holding up his hands. "Shishio-sama is waiting inside for you two, follow me." Neji turned his back on the ex-hitokiri and ex-Shinsengumi and pushed the door open with a hand.  
  
"After you." He held the door open as Kenshin kept a suspicious glare fixed on Neji. Saitou shook his head and his smirk widened.  
  
"We can't start out being this cautious. Let's go."  
  
Kenshin turned his head as they followed their guide across the inn's grounds. Guards clumsily attempted to hide behind trees, in bushes, and in the shadows as they passed by.  
  
"How much further?" Saitou asked, becoming slightly impatient as Neji lead them into a large building. The boy ignored them and wound his way through different corridors.  
  
"We're here." Neji said, sliding open a paper door and stepping inside. Kenshin and Saitou followed him inside, their gazes immediately flying towards the man who was sitting on a cushion in the middle of the room. A lady with an off-shoulders kimono was kneeling next to him, offering him sake as he inhaled smoke from a long pipe.  
  
"You've arrived." Shishio smirked, removing the pipe from his mouth.  
  
"You're. . .Shishio Makoto. . ." Kenshin said, shifting his stance. Shishio smirked again and leant his forehead against the back of his hand.  
  
"Call me Shishio, my rude predecessor."  
  
Neji folded his arms and leant against the paper door, his gaze sweeping the room. Neji thought, frowning. He quickly averted his eyes when he realized he was glaring at the ground, where he felt Senkaku lurking, and his gaze ended up on a shiny metal staff leaning on the sword stand next to Shisho's Nagasone Kotetsu. A smirk appeared on his face.  
  
"Hey," murmured Saitou, leaning over slightly to the young man next to him. "You sure you want Battousai to just stand there? He could kill Shishio in a single leap." The smirk on Neji's face never left, but he unfolded his arms and took his weight off the wall.  
  
"Himura isn't like you, Saitou," Neji replied. "He wouldn't do anything as dishonorable as a surprise attack. And even if he did. . ." I would stop him beforehand. Well if I had my shinobi zue. . . A matching smirk appeared on Saitou's face.  
  
  
  
Kenshin stepped up closer to Shishio, his glare darkening. "Why did you target this place? You're after the whole country, not one or two little villages." Shishio inhaled more smoke then lowered the pipe.  
  
"The hot springs." Kenshin's eyes widened. "The hot springs are good for my burnt skin, but I was afraid the other bathers would see me. So, I had to take then." Kenshin's hand went towards his sword hilt, his eyes narrowing as he did so.  
  
"You . . . for this alone. . . you would terrorize an entire village . . ." Kenshin said, his voice deepening. A smirk appeared on Shishio's charcoal colored lips.  
  
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Shishio said, laughing a little under his breath. Yumi moved over slightly and leant against his purple kimono. "Learn how to take a joke, you're as serious as the rumors say you are."  
  
Saitou stepped up behind Kenshin and bonked him on the head. "Keep your temper. You take a joke about as well as weasel girl does."  
  
Shishio tapped out the ashes in his pipe into a small bowl Yumi held out for him. " This village will make a strong military base from which to dominate the Toukai region. Although. . . I do like the hot springs."  
  
Kenshin stepped forwards again while murmuring "Shishio. . ." but Saitou stopped him with a casually extended hand.  
  
"You keep quiet." Saitou said. A smirk appeared on his face as shadows cast a dark look upon him. "With this base. . . you intend to exact revenge from the Meiji government for those bandages?  
  
Shishio leant forwards on his cushion, his stare switching onto Saitou. "Saitou Hajime, captain of the third Shinsengumi unit. I thought you could understand me better, since you're more like me than Battousai.looks like I was wrong." He gripped his bandaged arm in his other. "I have no intention of seeking revenge from those who gave me these bandages.  
  
Rather, I should thank them. They taught me things which have sunk into my soul. [If you trust, you will be betrayed.] [If you are careless, you will die.] [Kill or be killed.]" Yumi leant forwards towards Shishio and put a slender finger against his chin, her other hand resting on his shoulder. "And, [A good man is never far from a woman.]"  
  
The smile that was fixed on Yumi's face made Neji's smirk falter and he stepped towards his sister. He paused as Saitou shifted into a more relaxed stance.  
  
"Could you keep it down then?" Saitou smirked. "I'm tired of running all over Japan because of you." Shishio exhaled slightly and continued talking, his gaze running over both Saitou and Kenshin.  
  
"We all survived the Bakumatsu.Why can't you understand?" Shadows cast an eerily serious expression on Kenshin's glaring face. "Revere the Emperor, destroy the Bakufu, expel the barbarian, open the country. These ideas brought about the Bakumatsu, but in the end it was nothing more than a time of chaos that finally came three hundred years after the Sengoku. A time when supporters of the Emperor or the Shogun; Satsuma, Choushuu or Tosa; all raised their flags and fought and killed in the name of justice."  
  
Shishio leant forwards, resting his hand on his knee, gripping the pipe in his right hand. His burn, charcoal skin contrasted with the whites of his eyes that were seen in his clear gaze. "Born in those times was a man who would try to rule all under heaven."  
  
A soft smile appeared on Yumi's face as she looked up at the man she loved. An identical smile emerged on Neji's face, but was replaced by a smirk as he clapped his hands to applaud Shishio's speech.  
  
Shishio twirled his pipe between his fingers. "I was almost assasinated, and when my wounds were finally healed, I tried coming out. The Meiji government had already succeeded in ending the violence. Now, they who tried to eliminate me won't send a single troop against me, for fear of looking weak before the Western powers. This weak government." He caught the twirling pipe and gripped it in his hand. "I cannot leave this country to such a weak government. If the violence was ended, I'll awaken it!" He snapped the pipe into pieces with his hand.  
  
Shishio's gaze turned slightly mad as he sat up on his cushion. "I'll seize control! I'll make this country strong! Justice will be served when the country is mine." Kenshin's serious gaze turned slightly sad, as he stepped closer again to Shishio.  
  
"For this justice.blood will flow. The blood of those who now live in peace."  
  
Shishio lowered his chin, gaze still fixed on his predecessor. "In this world, after all, the flesh of the weak is the food of the strong. But. . . I could never persuade you of that."  
  
Kenshin's glare sharpened once again and he took another step forwards, simultaneously drawing the sakabatou. "Shishio Makoto, you cannot shed the blood of others for the sake of your own justice."  
  
Neji's gaze turned slightly serious as the snick of Kenshin's sword being drawn was clearly heard, and the bright shine of the blade glowed in the lamp's flames. He turned slightly to the tall policeman next to him. "How about you, Saitou?"  
  
Saitou smirked down at Neji, shifting his relaxed pose. "I don't like pretty words like he does. But. . . it seems to be my fate, to be on the side that brings Shishio down." Neji's brow creased slightly as he changed his stance, planting his feet on the ground.  
  
Shishio sat crosslegged still on the cushion, Yumi kneeling next to him. He sighed again. "It doesn't matter if we fight or not. I had hoped to do it poetically in Kyoto, the city of flowers. But. . ." Shishio looked up and met Kenshin's gaze. "If you really want to fight. . ." Shishio leant forwards slightly on the cushion and slapped the wooden floor with his bandaged hand.  
  
Neji's gaze switched quickly to the floorboards, as two axeblades smashed their way through the center of the room. Kenshin and Saitou moved backwards slightly, avoiding the destruction the blades caused on the floor. Neji thought, relaxing again.   
  
Senkaku smashed his way up out from under the floorboards and climbed up onto the level ground, towering above Kenshin and Saitou. A smirk creased his face as he glared at the two 'intruders.'  
  
"Senkaku, the ruler of Shingetsu is your opponent!!"  
  
Kenshin looks calmly at the large man in front of him. "You're Senkaku. . ." His gaze darkened as a piercing glare appeared on his face. "The man who killed Eiji's brother and parents . . ."  
  
There was no reply from the large bullet head, other than a roar as he rushed forwards. Saitou and Kenshin dodged to opposite sides of the room, each looking slightly surprised.  
  
"Go to hell!!" Senkaku shouted, swerving in midstep and catching Kenshin offguard with a hard strike to the stomach with his axe-blade, pinning him against the wall. Neji blinked surprised, as he stepped forwards towards Yumi and Shishio.  
  
"That. . . was a lot easier than I thought it would be. . ." Neji said, looking at the man pinned against the wall.  
  
"Himura Battousai wasn't terrible enough!" Senkaku laughed, triumph shining in his eyes. Neji blinked again.  
  
I  
  
"I made a promise to Eiji." A voice said, deadly serious. Senkaku's laugh was cut short as he gazed down on the man glaring up at him. A gasp was heard from the bullet head as he saw his ax was splintered in the middle where Kenshin blocked with his sakabatou.  
  
"I will destroy you before Shishio!"  
  
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu  
Chapter 6  
"Before the Storm"  
End  
  
A/N: eh. . . I know this was a boring chapter. . . *yawns* (its only 10, y am I sleepy. . .) but if I suddenly jump an cut out senkaku. . . well, Shishio wouldn't be able to learn Kenshin's move an all. . . blah blah, also I kinda like seein bullet head man gettin his butt kicked :P gomen to any senkaku fans out there (if there are any . . .) eh. . . I wanna read this book I got on samurai. . . no time to lah, my head feels funny I think is from da paint fumes when painted da house today . . . @_@ 


	8. Chapter 7: Interruption

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu  
[By: Tenken]  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters (say to self: does anyone really read this part? ^^;)  
  
Rating: G.I think b/c not a lot of violence in this chap.or swearin also lah ^^;  
  
A/N: da story is bout soujiro bein trained by hiko but need to put this in so can see how kenshin-gumi survive to later times lah . . . cept got idea from other review dat could make up stuff . . . but dunno if I feel like it . . . an I like talking bout neji ^^;  
  
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu  
Chapter 7  
"Interruption"  
  
Neji's eyes widened as he stared upon the battle enfolding in front of his eyes. A smirk appeared on his face. Neji's eyes narrowed and he gazed upon the much smaller built orange haired man blocking the bullet head's axe with the bladed edge of his sakabatou.   
  
A smirk appeared on Senkaku's face as shadows covered the two fighters.  
  
"You?" the bullet headed man sneered, looking down on his much shorter opponent. "Destroy me? Senkaku-sama?"  
  
Kenshin simply kept a clear glare fixed on the giant, still calmly blocking his attack. "I will." Senkaku's smirk widened into a fixed grin as he pulled his arm back, attacking with his other. The axe blade ripped great rents into the tatami mats as Kenshin nimbly leaped aside from each attack.  
  
"That's funny!" Senkaku bellowed, smashing more of the floor up with his attacks. "I've killed ninety-nine people up til now!" He smashed the right hand axe blade with the chip in it into the ground, Kenshin dodging to the side easily again. "You'll be the hundredth!!"  
  
"Only ninety-nine?" Saitou said to himself, smirking. Neji looked at the tall policeman leaning against the paper door next to him with a question mark forming above his head. "That's not a lot to be proud of."  
  
Neji blinked and saw Kenshin's form blur as he moved swiftly around the bullet head, Neji's eyes narrowing as he observed the fight. Yumi looked up with a half smile, half smirk on her face.  
  
"This is the famous speed we've heard so much about," she said, her gaze on where Kenshin had stood. Neji switched his gaze quickly from where he knew Kenshin would appear to his sister's face.  
  
Neji thought, immediately looking back at the fight as Senkaku looked backwards to where Kenshin appeared a second later.  
  
"If they're comparing speed, Senkaku won't lose." Yumi finished, as Senkaku slashed viciously backwards at Kenshin's head with his weapon.  
  
"Battousai, you're behind me!!" Senkaku roared, his attack barely missing Kenshin as he dashed to the side and appeared behind the bullet head, who was still recovering from his attack. A frown appeared on Senkaku's face as he turned his head to glare at Kenshin. "Is Hitokiri Battousai such a coward, that he can only attack from behind?"  
  
Neji thought, relaxing his stance a bit. Neji shook his head quickly as his eyes moved immediately towards his shinobi zue.   
  
Senkaku suddenly blurred, moving with speed that one would not attribute to a man of his size and build. "I can do it too." Neji smirked as Senkaku appeared behind Kenshin, his axe blades held high. Kenshin looked calmly behind him at the giant towering over him.  
  
"That too, is nothing to be proud of."  
  
Senkaku's eyes widened and his mouth opened in an insane sort of smile. "Our speed is equal! But . . . I am far stronger!!" He lifted up his axe- blades, ready to attack. "With these two kaiken, I can make the most of it!!"  
  
I Neji thought, folding his arms. Neji watched as Senkaku madly slashed at his opponent, who dodged every attack with the same circling movement.  
  
~A few minutes pass~  
  
Neji covered his mouth with his hand, yawning loudly nonetheless. Kenshin still dodged around the room, avoiding Senkaku's 'killer blows'. Neji thought, slumping against the paper door.   
  
"Circling, circling . . ." Senkaku muttered, turning quickly to follow Kenshin in one of his circular dodging movements. He caught up and slashed at his evasive enemy. "Our speed is equal! How long do you think you can avoid me, cockroach?" Neji yawned again and turned to look at Saitou. "Battousai's having a tough time, he hasn't retaliated even once." Neji smirked and pointed towards the former Hitokiri dashing away from a downwards slash. "You're not going to help him?"  
  
Saitou smirked, not taking his eyes off of the fight. "You must be joking, I'm not going to show him my sword technique." He raised a gloved hand to point at Shisho, who was leaning forwards, chin resting on his open palm. "Look, he's been watching this fight to see everything his enemy does."  
  
Neji looked quickly at Kenshin's blurred form and saw his gaze was meeting Shishio's. Neji's glare darkened and he stepped forwards towards Shishio and his weapon.  
  
"Battousai has naturally noticed this, so he invites his opponent to destroy himself." Saitou finished, a cold smirk on his face. Neji's gaze followed Kenshin around the room as he dodged blows.  
  
"What do you mean, destroy himself?" Neji snapped, his hand tightening into a fist. I've underestimated him . . . its dangerous without shinobi zue. . .  
  
"Is it time yet?" Kenshin said, after a long period of not talking. Senkaku gritted his teeth and slashed at Kenshin once again. Like before, the orange haired man merely dodged to the side in a blur.  
  
"I've had enough of you~" Senkaku growled, blurring to the side also. Neji's smirk widened to a grin as Senkaku's leg twisted underneath him and snapped with an unpleasant cracking sound. Neji stepped forwards again, his gaze sticking to Kenshin. "My . . . my leg . . . it's broken . . ."  
  
Kenshin stood near the giant's head, looking down at him with cold eyes. "You kept on moving without ever losing speed." The sakabatou was lowered. "When you turned quickly, the burden was too much for your body to bear."  
  
Senkaku looked up at Kenshin, sweat beading on his face and his expression incredulous. "That's ridiculous! Why should it be too much for me, and not you? We were moving at the same speed!"  
  
Orange bangs parted, exposing a piercing, cold stare. "At the same speed, your weight is greater, so you bore more force."  
  
Neji flinched as Senkaku's reply came out much louder than a shout. "Ridiculous! . . . RIDICULOUS! This hasn't happened before!! I should've been able to take it~" Saitou sighed and closed his eyes.  
  
"This idiot hasn't noticed yet? Every time Battousai made a turn, he gradually increased his speed. You were under the impression that your speed and his were equal." Neji's eyes widened as he absorbed this new piece of news. "You've killed ninety-nine people, but the hundredth was yourself."  
  
"This fight was a lot different than expected . . ." Neji said to himself, looking down with his bangs blocking his eyes. A smirk appeared on his face. Senkaku slowly and painfully attempted to get back onto his feet, but froze when Kenshin's gaze turned to him.  
  
Senkaku held up a head, more sweat beading on his face. "No. . . don't do it. . . The ninety-nine people, it was only a manner of speech!" Kenshin's glare didn't change.  
  
"The death of Eiji's family, that was your doing."  
  
Neji looked at the ceiling for a second as he thought of the right word.   
  
"Senkaku."  
  
The heads of everyone in the room turned to the bandaged man leaning forwards on the pillow, except for Kenshin whose glare never left Senkaku's face.  
  
"I never expected you to win but. . . if you lose without showing me a single one of Battousai's techniques. . ." Shishio rested his chin on his hand. "I'll kill you myself." He drew a finger across his throat.  
  
I Neji thought, sweatdropping, his chibi gaze on the giant bullet head who got up shakily and lunged at the ex-hitokiri with a roar.  
  
"Hiten Mitsurugi~"  
  
Neji's eyes widened as Kenshin changed his grip on his sakabatou and didn't move from the path of the giant's attack.  
  
"Ryuushousen!" Kenshin jumped high into the air, holding his sakabatou's hilt in his left hand, his right under his swords edge. Senkaku's eyes fogged as the flat of Kenshin's sakabatou slashed underneath his chin, sending him flying through the air and crashing into the ground.  
  
Saitou shook his head and grimaced. "Idiot . . . showing such mercy to that blockhead. . . this weakness will prove fatal one day." No reply came from Kenshin's mouth as he pivoted and leveled his sword tip to Shishio's face, making Neji step forward again in defense of his sister's happiness.  
  
"It doesn't matter, I'll make no such exertions for my 'successor'." Kenshin's glare focused again on the bandaged man, but Neji's attention was diverted elsewhere as he sensed two other life forces.  
  
he thought, torn between stepping in front of the man confronting his 'boss' and the unknowns outside.  
  
"Take up your sword, Shishio Makoto."  
  
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu  
Chapter 7  
END  
  
A/N: would try an make da chapter longer . . . cept I get bored writin this long from looking at da manga for da action an manga translation also lah . . . -_- gomen readers hehe. . . u have a lazy writer here ~point at self~ but I try an write more maybe . . . um . . . ~bonk self on head~ hehe too lazy lah. . . Da title interruption is kinda like. . . ~thinks~ da senkaku fight is only interruption from da other fight comin up. . . is not as serious ne? cause my titles r getting worse an worse lah . . . hehe . . . Arigatou for da reviews tho! ^_^ cannot believe I got more reviews. . . hehe ~am grinning like an idiot rite now~ ~whacks word for makin me type da dots funny~ -_- 


	9. Chapter 8: First Encounter

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu  
[By: Tenken]  
  
Disclaimer: I dun own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters, Neji (OOC) is mine I think . . .  
  
Rating: G to PG perhaps . . .  
  
A/N: "____" is speech and '____' is thinking . . . I've discovered just now that fanfiction.net sometimes deletes wat the characters r thinking when I put it in ^^; slow, aren't I?  
  
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu  
Chapter 8  
"First Encounter"  
  
The bullet headed giant Senkaku lay sprawled out on the tatami mats, some which had smashed on contact. Shishio Makoto sat calmly on his cushions, his chin resting on his palm while Himura Kenshin's sword tip was leveled at his face.  
  
"Take up your sword, Shishio Makoto." Kenshin said, keeping his eyes on the bandaged man sitting before him. Neji stepped forwards, eyes darting between the shinobi zue leaning next to Shishio's sword, Himura Battousai, and the two unknown life forces he could sense outside the sliding door.  
  
'Damn it . . . what should I do?' Neji thought, balling his hand into a fist. 'I doubt those two could hurt Shishio-sama, or even Himura Battousai but . . . I shouldn't take chances . . .'  
  
"Don't bother hiding," Saitou said, placing his hand on the edge of the sliding door. Neji blinked and turned slightly to look at the door from the corner of his eye. "You can come on out." Neji's stance switched as he prepared for an attack, and sweatdropped as a girl and small boy tumbled into the room, the girl squashing the boy.  
  
"Waaah!" Misao yelped, landing flat on Eji, who still clutched his brother's jagged sword.  
  
"Just stay close"  
  
Kenshin's glare lessened to a look of surprise as he turned to the new arrivals. "Misao-donno! What are you doing here?"  
  
"That technique . . ." Shishio's deep voice filled the room and Kenshin turned back to face him. "You called it the Ryuushousen. You struck Senkaku's chin with the flat of the blade, but if you had used the edge . . ."  
  
Neji smirked as he saw Senkaku's throat exploding into a mess of blood, flesh and bone from Battousai's sakabatou.  
  
"Would it have killed him?" Shishio finished, still not lifting his chin up from his hand. Kenshin nodded slightly, murmuring his reply. Shishio shook his head lightly, closing his eyes as if in thought. "I'm disappointed, I heard that you became a rurouni, swearing not to kill. It was hard to believe until I saw it with my own eyes. You could never destroy me like that."  
  
Shishio moved his bandaged hand in a gesture to Yumi, who quickly folded the screen that had back dropped their conversation, revealing a secret stairway. The bandaged man stood up from his cushions finally and stood next to Yumi, who held the door with one hand. "Boring . . . I don't want to fight. I'll wait for you in Kyoto, if you become the Hitokiri we'll try this again."  
  
"You'll turn tail and run?" Kenshin asked, still with his sword levered towards Shishio Makoto. A dark expression appeared on Shishio's face like a cloud over the sun, and his hand moved towards the sword stand.  
  
"Ah! Look out Himura!" Misao shouted, making a fist and bonking Eji on the head. Shishio's hand closed upon the metal staff that leant against the sword stand and threw it across the room. Shishio held the sword that had taken up the stand in his left hand, as Kenshin dodged the swirling staff that passed by his head.  
  
A grin lit up Neji's face as the cool steel of the shinobi zue smacked into his palm, catching it easily in its twirling passage across the room. He stared across the room as his sister slowly ascended the stairs that lead to an underground passage and outside the village.  
  
"Neji, play with him for me." Shishio said, waiting for Yumi to go further down the staircase. Neji leant the shinobi zue against his shoulder and he smirked.  
  
"You sure?" Neji asked, twirling the shinobi zue, enjoying the feel of it that he had lacked for a quarter of an hour. He finished by catching it in his left hand. Shishio's smirk mirrored Neji's.  
  
"I'm sure, I'm showing him you as reward for him Ryuushousen." Shishio finished, turning and starting to walk down the steps.  
  
"With your permission . . ." Neji muttered, holding the shinobi zue in his left and getting into a fighting stance.  
  
'That stance . . .' Saitou thought. 'That staff he's carrying completes it . . .' Neji met Kenshin glare for glare, the both of them not moving as Kenshin lowered his sword so the point was aiming at the ground.  
  
"Himura!!" Misao shouted, raising her 'armored' fists. "What're you standing there for? The bandage guy is getting away!!" Kenshin glare changed as his sword-ki flared up. Neji's smirk widened as Kenshin's attack was pushed away from him by his own sword-ki. Misao got hit with the brunt of the attack and flopped down to the floor, her eyes wide.  
  
"Wha . . . what the heck was that?" she mumbled, still chibi. Saitou didn't move from his position against the sliding door as he folded his arms and looked up.  
  
"It's useless. Trying to fight him with sword-ki is like attacking a rock. I've been doing it all along. His sword-ki is . . . powerful, the attacks are merely reflected off of him."  
  
[Scene change]  
  
The crash of hooves is heard as Shishio rides a horse, making it leap over a fallen tree. Yumi leans back against his bandaged chest as a worried look crossed her face.  
  
"Shishio-sama . . . will Neji be fine?" she asked, looking up at him. Shishio smirked.  
  
"He'll be fine." Shishio said, moving the horse's reins with a hand. "At this point, he is more than a match for my predecessor. His fighting and killing ki are well trained, from his childhood experiences. His joy of seeing you happy, his anger against people who try and destroy your happiness, they all make him strong."  
  
[Scene changed again]  
  
Neji and Kenshin face off in the smashed up room, Misao and Eji watching with wide eyes and Saitou still leaning against the door with an expressionless look on his face.  
  
"The finest swordsman won't be able to overpower Neji with a ki attack." Shishio continued. "Saitou was going to attack me, but he couldn't immobilize Neji, so he didn't do it. For Battousai, it will be all the more deadly-"  
  
Neji scratches his head with his right hand, his left holding his staff in a vertical fashion slightly behind him. "Himura, if we don't start soon I won't be able to catch up with Shishio-sama." 'And Yumi-neechan . . .' he added to himself.  
  
Kenshin stared at the young man for a moment then sheathed the sakabatou and got into the battoujutsu-stance. Misao cried out in surprise as Saitou smirked again. "Using your fastest technique against him is the best plan." He said, giving his approval on Kenshin's fighting plan.  
  
"Battou-jutsu?" Neji said, the smirk not leaving his face. He sighed and relaxed his left arm, allowing his staff to swing back and forth. Neji's eyes closed and Kenshin inched forwards slightly, pushing the hilt of his sakabatou up with his thumb. A curious expression passed Kenshin's face briefly as the boy did nothing to protect himself, then he shook his head and glared once again.  
  
'Shishio Makoto.'  
  
Kenshin drew his sakabatou swiftly out of its sheath, his teeth clenched yet his eyes calm. The blade cut through he air toward the taller man's face. Neji's eyes opened quickly in a glare and he stepped backwards, dodging the slash by an inch. His grip on the shinobi zue tightened as shock appeared on Kenshin's face.  
  
'He dodged it . . .' Kenshin thought, still following through. The ex- hitokiri's eyes widened as a blade materialized from the tip of the staff, that whirled in Neji's left hand and sent the blade flying towards his opponent.  
  
Neji's brown eyes narrowed as his smirk widened upon seeing half of the sakabatou fly through the air and stab into the tatami mats. "Its over, isn't it?" he said, thunking the end of his shinobi zue into the ground, the blade up in the air above his head.  
  
"Yes, if neither side can go on, it's a draw." Saitou said from the corners. Neji glared at the tall policeman then blinked and looked up at the blade of his weapon, which had chips and dents in it.  
  
"How . . .? You damaged my shinobi zue . . ." Neji murmured, lowering the blade to examine it more closely.  
  
Misao jumped into the air and punched her fist. "All right! That's what I expected from Himura!"  
  
"It's amazing, I never expected you to be able to that, Himura Battousai." Neji said louder, looking up at the red headed man. He twisted a section of the staff quickly, hidden by his gi's sleeves, and the blade disappeared again. 'I'll have to repair it when we I get to Kyoto . . .'  
  
Neji rested the staff against his shoulder again and walked past Battousai towards the stairs where his master had gone a few minutes ago. "This match had no winner or loser. I wish to fight you again, but before then you'll have to find yourself another sword, Battousai."  
  
Neji smirked as the man gave no reply and merely stood holding the ruined remains of his sakabatou, and exited the room and the village. While going down the last step of the hidden stairway and entering the tunnel, the clink of the sakabatou being sheathed reached Neji's ears.  
  
Hiten mitsurugi Ryu  
Chapter 8  
END  
  
A/N: I switch from Kenshin to Battousai a lot . . . I think I could've done a lot better w/this chapter . . . gomen! ~bows~ 


	10. Chapter 9: Musings and a Visit

moonlight12: hehe . . . arigatou for ur suggestions! ^^ ~looks at moonlight- san~ I think u read my mind on some parts . . . ^_^ Inu yokai + Lord Cirenmas thanks for da reviews ^^  
  
Chapter Nine "Musings and a Visit"  
  
Komagata Neji sprinted over the uneven, rocky dirt, his shinobi zue held out parallel to the ground. Unconsciously, his dark eyes flickered back and forth to rest on his damaged weapon back to the ground, searching for stones and roots that would trip him up.  
  
'Himura Battousai,' the young man thought, gritting his teeth slightly, 'Nobody did win our match . . . I should have won easily though. He couldn't make himself kill bullet-head but has enough strength to damage shinobi zue . . .' Neji looked up and saw a fallen tree laying across the dusty path and a smirk grew on his face.  
  
"Himura!" Neji shouted half to himself, and half to his adversary back in Shingetsu village. "Next time we meet~" Neji whirled the metal staff then struck down quickly, smashing the tree trunk in half and clearing the way. "You'll bother Shishio-sama no more!"  
  
A man in a light blue kimono and dark blue hakama wandered through the streets of Kyoto. Smiling at all the people who looked at him, or perhaps he was just smiling constantly, he kept looking from side to side at the stores that lined the dusty avenue.  
  
"Etto . . . sake . . .sake . . ." he murmured to himself, earning a few strange looks from the people passing by him. 'If Hiko-sensei wanted me to get sake he should've told me where to buy it . . . how am I supposed to find a store . . .' The blue-clad young man sighed lightly then entered a store that may have sold the wanted good.  
  
"Excuse me, I was wondering if you sold any sake here . . .?" Soujiro asked politely, bowing his head slightly to the shop owner. The man shook his head, eyes glued on Soujiro's sheathed katana, and so Soujiro retreated to continue his quest. 'Maybe it was a bad idea to bring my katana . . .' Soujiro thought to himself, turning chibi and sweatdropping.  
  
A short period of time later, three jars of sake with ropes tied around their necks as handles were bumping against Soujiro's back as they were slung over his shoulder. He pulled out a drawstring pouch out of his kimono sleeve and opened it with one hand. 'I'm sure Hiko-sensei wouldn't mind if I . . .' The sound of Soujiro's growling stomach made a small child jump away from him.  
  
"I think it would be best for you to eat something, before you scare away all the children." A lady said, laughter eminent in her voice. None showed in her eyes, however, due to the fact that they seemed to be permanently shut. Soujiro turned and smiled at her. "Welcome to the Shirobeko, please come in!" Sae slid open the door and held it open for him, a smile still on her face.  
  
"Etto . . ." Soujiro murmured, imagining an angry Hiko bellowing for his change. Another growl from his stomach persuaded him otherwise. "Thank you . . . ^_^" He followed Sae into the tidy restaurant and sat down in a compartment. He ordered, and then attempted to shush his stomach.  
  
"How did this happen Neji?" Shishio asked, sitting on a boulder with the shinobi zue held in his hand. Neji scratched his head.  
  
"I'm not sure exactly Shishio-sama . . ." Neji replied, with remnants of a grin on his face. "Don't worry about Himura though, I'll deal with him next time."  
  
"Hm . . . I may have underestimated my predecessor." Shishio said out loud, almost to himself. Neji blinked and looked sideways at his sister, not knowing what to say in return. "Neji, do something for me."  
  
"Hai, Shishio-sama?"  
  
"Bring all the Juppon Katana to Kyoto." The bandaged man said, a manic grin forming on his face. Shishio tossed the shinobi zue to Neji, who caught it deftly and made the blade disappear quickly. "I want to drag Hitokiri Battousai out of Himura Kenshin, by force if I have to."  
  
Neji bowed his head slightly.  
  
END  
  
A/N: I wanted to make Soujiro either run into Kenshin + misao (or pass by them) or be eating in the Shirobeko when Kaoru + Yahiko come in but . . . _ didn't work . . . will write another chapter tomorrow prob, if I can write one of CT quickly ^^; 


	11. Chapter 10: The Master and His Baka Desh...

Chapter Ten: The Master and his Baka Deshis  
  
"A signal flare?" Hiko mumbled, looking up at the blue sky through which the bright, said flare soared up into the air. "That's unusual these days . . ."  
  
"I don't remember seeing any of them before, sensei." Soujiro replied, smiling as he handed his cloaked teacher another stick of wood. Hiko grunted and thrust the stick into the kiln.  
  
"It has nothing to do with me."  
  
"Hai hai, sensei."  
  
"Get more wood baka deshi!!" Hiko shouted, sending his student scurrying off. A sigh escaped his lips as he stared at the ground.  
  
"I can't believe Hiko-sensei needs so much wood . . ." Soujiro murmured to himself and he casually sliced a branch into smaller pieces with his sword. " . . . And so much sake." Soujiro sighed and shrugged, collecting the cut wood and bringing it back to the fallen log in front of the kiln where his master sat.  
  
"What took you so long?" Hiko grunted, taking the offered wood. Soujiro sweatdropped and smiled.  
  
"Ah, gomen Hiko-sensei, I didn't realize you wanted wood that quickly." Soujiro said, bowing slightly. Hiko waved his apology away with a hand and tossed more wood onto the fire, his eyes staring at the roaring flames.  
  
The sky began to darken as Soujiro dashed about the clearing, practicing the three steps before Shikuchi. Clods of earth flew through the air as he raced through the area, slashing with his katana at imaginary enemies. Hiko still sat in front of the fires, his gaze still fixed on the fiery depths of the kiln. That gaze, however, clouded slightly when a dirt clod hit him squarely in the face.  
  
"SOUJIRO!!" he bellowed, jumping to his feet and wiping away the earth that immediately went all over the front of his gi. Hiko's student screeched to a stop and back into sight, with not a speck of earth on him.  
  
"Hai, Hiko-sensei?" Soujiro replied, with the normal smile on his face. Hiko calmed himself down, slightly.  
  
"Get me some water." Soujiro nodded and turned, sheathing his katana and picking up the bucket. "And some wood. Enough wood to last through the night." Without turning around, his blue clad student nodded again and headed off into the surrounding forests.  
  
"Baka deshi . . ." Hiko sat down on the log and wiped off the remainder of the earth with a cloth. Throwing the cloth to the side, Hiko looked up at the dark night sky and sighed, shrugging his shoulders and looking into the flames once again.  
  
The slight sound of a light footstep reached the master of Hiten Mitsurugi. He remained sitting however, and heard the sound of a sword being drawn. The blade flashed through the air, cutting right through where Hiko had sat moments earlier. Landing nearly back to back to his attacker, Hiko gazed at the ground.  
  
"It's pretty low of you," he said calmly. "To be attacking a mere potter out of nowhere." Hiko's eyes looked to the side even though his head did not move, as he heard the clink of a sword being resheathed.  
  
"Hiko Seijuurou is no mere potter," his attacker replied, just as calmly. Hiko blinked slightly, then turned just as his attacker did the same.  
  
"Who are you?" Then Hiko's eyes widened in surprise as he saw the man who had attacked him without warning.  
  
"It's been a long time, Master . . ." Himura Kenshin said, facing him. There was a long pause as the two stared at each other, then Hiko looked away and walked towards a small hut, motioning Kenshin to follow him.  
  
"Oro?" Kenshin said under his breath, looking at all of the shelves full of pots and jars. Hiko ignored his student and sat down on a trunk, facing Kenshin.  
  
"Now that you've had the gall to show your face here, what do you want with me?" Hiko asked, a serious look on his face. Kenshin was silent a moment while his gaze was still fixed on the numerous shelves.  
  
"It seems Niitsu Kakunoshin is a rising new name in the world of ceramics." He said, still looking around. Then, he finally looked out of the corner of his eye at his master. "Why pottery again?"  
  
"I didn't really care, pottery, whatever." Hiko replied, gazing at the wooden planked floor of his hut. He noted there was a board that needed replacing and reminded himself to tell Soujiro in the morning. "It was just the easiest way to make a living without having to deal with a lot of people.  
  
"That's easy for you to say."  
  
"Well . . . you know." Hiko said slowly, before lightly touching his forehead with the two fingers of his right hand. "My genius shows in whatever I do." Kenshin sweatdropped.  
  
'As conceited as ever . . .'  
  
"You didn't answer my question." Hiko continued suddenly, causing Kenshin to flinch. "You came to tell me something that's hard for you to say." A smirk appeared on Hiko's face as Kenshin flinched again in surprise. "I was your master, I can read my baka deshi like a book."  
  
"Then . . . I'll say it straight out." Kenshin said, before kneeling onto the ground. "I ask you for the instruction of the Hiten Mitsurugi school that I left ten years ago!"  
  
"No!" Hiko replied bluntly, making Kenshin sweatdrop. "You were the one who left ten years ago." He stood up and turned as if to go. "Why now, after all this time and ~" Hiko's words stopped as a hand clung onto his mantle.  
  
"Please . . . I beg of you."  
  
A smirk appeared on Hiko's face as he looked down on his student. "Well . . . that's something. You look like you're at the end of your rope." He sat down once again on the trunk. "If you're asking, I'm listening."  
  
"It's getting dark . . ." Kaoru said, looking around at the forest that surrounded the path.  
  
"We should hurry," Yahiko replied, looking at the girl in front of them who held a sheet of paper in her hand.  
  
"Mm. According to Jiya's directions, it's just a little farther." Misao murmured, flipping her way through the sheets of paper. "Himura went to see Niitsu Kakunoshin. Our sources say he's a rising potter deluged with orders. But actually, his hidden name is Hiko Seijuurou, a teacher of the Hiten Mitsurugi school. In other words . . . Kenshin's master."  
  
Yahiko looked up at his teacher, with a question mark above his head. "Hidden name?" Kaoru looked back down at him, a thoughtful expression on her face.  
  
"It could mean a lot of things . . . but, it's probably another name . . . kept secret."  
  
Misao slowed her pace slightly as she turned back to look at the two following her. "In the case of Hiten Mitsurugi ryu, Hiko Seijuurou is the name of the founder, passed down generation to generation. It's inherited by those who have completely mastered the style, and will pass it on."  
  
"Hmm . . ." Yahiko murmered, holding his chin between thumb and forefinger while thinking. "Wait a minute!! That means~"  
  
"Exactly!" Misao shouted, thinking along the same lines as Yahiko. "When Himura left, he hadn't completely mastered the school! There was a technique he didn't learn for some reason, and he's going to master it now!"  
  
"And then he'll be even stronger than before! Damn, the guy's just not human!" Yahiko shouted, punching the air with his fist while going chibi.  
  
Misao mimicked Yahiko, a big grin on her face. "He's a demon! A demon!"  
  
Kaoru sweatdropped in the background then looked up quickly as she heard a faint rustling in the trees to the side of the path. "What was that?" Yahiko and Misao turned back to normal, both of them reaching for their weapons.  
  
"Spies from Shishio Makoto?" Misao said, taking out kunai from her clothes. Yahiko glared at where the rustling sound had come from, whipping out his shinai.  
  
"Come out!" he shouted. "Face me!"  
  
"And who are you?"  
  
All three of Kenshin's friends jumped in surprise before regaining their composure. With a cry, Misao flung a kunai at the man who had appeared right behind Yahiko, and shouted again as he caught them effortlessly in one hand.  
  
"EH???" Misao screeched, looking for more kunai. Yahiko gritted his teeth then pivoted smoothly, raising his shinai and smashing down on the dusty path.  
  
"Where'd he go?" Yahiko shouted, looking up at where the man's face should have been.  
  
"Once again, I ask who you three are." The man's voice came this time from behind Kaoru, who spun around and came face to face with a smiling young man.  
  
"EH??" the three shouted in unison, pointing a finger at their 'attacker'.  
  
"How could he catch my kunai??" Misao shouted, going chibi and glaring at the young man. "Who the hell are you?? Give me my kunai back!!"  
  
"Seta Soujiro, now please tell me who you are."  
  
END  
  
Loosing inspiration once again . . . ~sees inspiration run off in the distance~ ahou . . .  
  
I like da title of this chapter . . . hehe :P its called so cause this chapter (in the manga) is called "The Master and the Student" or something like dat . . . ~shrugs~ ^^  
  
Btw I may . . . ~coughs~ ignore this fic again for a while because Changing Times (other fic) is near completion sooooo . . . if I complete it I'll only have 1 fic to worry bout ^^;  
  
Shadowhunter13: etto . . . thanks for da review? ^^ ~scratches head~ I've seen the name spelt many different ways . . . do u mind if I keep it this way? Even if its wrong . . . I'm more used to it -_- thanks for pointing it out to me!  
  
Dragona2007: thanks for ur advice! ^^ ~thinks~ da only trouble with that is . . . I kinda like writin about Neji also ~sweatdrops~ I think its cause I like the shinobi zue . . . ~grins~ anyway . . . I think soujiro's gonna meet Kenshin soon ^^ 


	12. Chapter 11 The Meeting

Chapter 11- "The Meeting"  
  
"Seta . . ." Kaoru murmured, fixing her gaze on the smiling young man's face.  
  
"Soujiro?" Misao finished for her, holding up multiple kunai. "Who's that?" Yahiko still pointed the tip of the shinai at the blue clad man, his expression serious.  
  
"I bet he's one of Shishio Makoto's spies!" Yahiko shouted, taking a step forwards. "Get away from him Kaoru!" Soujiro blinked once and then shifted the pile of firewood he held under one arm.  
  
"Shishio Makoto?" he asked, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "I work for Niitsu-san." The three looked at each other and then back at the smiling Soujiro. Soujiro shrugged and went back into the forest quickly, coming out with a wooden bucket full of water. "Anyway, Niitsu-san doesn't really like visitors, so I recommend turning back at this point." There was an uncomfortable pause as the three began whispering to each other, before Soujiro sighed and turned around to begin heading back.  
  
"Ma~Matte!!" Misao shouted, running and dashing in front of Soujiro, who stopped quickly and spilled some water in the process.  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"Niitsu-san . . . as in Niitsu Kakunoshin?" Misao asked, pulling out the papers Okina had given her. Soujiro nodded once, still smiling. 'What's up with the smiling . . .' Misao thought to herself, before exchanging a look with Kaoru.  
  
"We need to speak to Hi~ Niitsu-san." Kaoru said tentatively. "We think one of our friends visited him here." Soujiro looked at her, smiling still but obviously thinking the idea over. "Ah . . . I'm Kamiya Kaoru, this is Myojin Yahiko and Makimachi Misao." Soujiro nodded to each of them in turn then turned on his heel.  
  
"You might as well come." Soujiro said, walking off slowly, making sure he didn't spill more water. Misao and Kaoru smiled, Yahiko grinned, and all three of them fell into step behind the blue clad young man.  
  
"Ne, Kaoru . . ." Misao whispered to the older girl walking next to her. Kaoru glanced over at her. "Do you think he knows?" A question mark popped up above Kaoru's head as they walked. "Um . . . about, you know . . . The secret name?" Misao sneaked a peek at Soujiro's back as they turned a corner. "About Hiko Seijuurou?"  
  
"I'm not sure. Maybe . . ." Kaoru said, also watching Soujiro's back.  
  
"I doubt it." Yahiko grunted, resting his shinai against his shoulder. "I think Hiko Seijuurou would only tell special people, great swordsmen about his name. That guy up there doesn't look like he could fight at all." Kaoru covered Yahiko's mouth up quickly.  
  
"Shh! He's showing us to where Hiko and mostly likely Kenshin is . . ." Kaoru whispered. "So be polite!" Kaoru sped up slightly to walk side by side with Soujiro. "Etto . . . Seta-san~"  
  
"You can just call me Soujiro." He replied, looking at her and smiling.  
  
"Ah, Soujiro . . . are we nearly at Niitsu-san's house?" Kaoru asked, sweatdropping. "We've been walking for a while . . ." Soujiro smiled again and didn't answer. Kaoru dropped back between Misao and Yahiko and shrugged slightly.  
  
"Why should I be polite to a freak who smiles constantly?" Yahiko mumbled under his breath. Kaoru bonked him on the head then looked up as they entered a clearing filled with multiple separate kilns and a small hut in the very middle.  
  
"Eh? That's weird." Soujiro said quietly to himself, looking about. "Hi ~ Niitsu-san was sitting right there when I left. Maybe he went inside." Soujiro put down the firewood in a pile next to one of the kilns then started towards the hut with the bucket in his hand. The uninvited guests followed right behind him, practically stepping on the back of his zori. "So . . . this is it. ^_^"  
  
"Can we go in?" Kaoru asked, looking a bit nervously at the door.  
  
"Maybe it was a mistake to teach you Hiten Mitsurugi at all." Hiko's voice said, floating outside. Everyone outside the door paused for a moment, sweatdropping. Then Misao and Yahiko smashed the door open, after running over Soujiro.  
  
"Eh??" Hiko and Kenshin looked up as the door smashed to the ground and Soujiro flopped down on top of it, as Misao and Yahiko jumped into the room in fighting stances.  
  
"What was that just now??" the two shouted in unison, glaring at Hiko, who merely looked back and then glanced at Kenshin.  
  
"Eh, Soujiro, who are they?" Hiko asked, thumbing at them. Kenshin, who sat with his back to the door, turned around slightly, his eyes widening.  
  
"Misao-donno . . . Yahiko . . ." Kenshin said quietly. Kaoru stepped quietly into the room, making sure not to step on Soujiro's hakama. "Kaoru- donno!"  
  
"Are they friends of yours?" Hiko asked, glaring at his blue clad student get up from the ground and look ruefully at the spilt bucket full of water. Kenshin turned to his teacher and nodded. The master of Hiten Mitsurugi sighed and rested his chin on his palm. "It's like Grand Central Station in here . . . People should know when they're not wanted."  
  
"Not wanted??" Misao and Yahiko shouted simultaneously, going chibi at the same time. Hiko ignored their outcry and looked sideways at his former student.  
  
"Kenshin, run outside and get some water. Since Soujiro's spilled his, there's only enough for two here." Hiko said, casually ordering the red haired rurouni about. "You can't expect the kids to go all night without anything to eat or drink."  
  
"Eh?" Kenshin replied, sweatdropping. "Why would I~"  
  
"Aren't you going for a moonlight stroll with the girl?" Hiko murmured, looking at Kenshin's surprised face change into a slightly angry one.  
  
"Master, that's not why I~"  
  
"That's your old spirit!" Hiko grinned, before pointing a finger imperiously at the door. "Don't stand here talking about it, just go!" Kenshin sighed once then went, prudently avoiding the mess Soujiro had left with the water. "Baka deshi, don't just stand there, clean up that water!" Kenshin stopped and turned around.  
  
"Hai, Hiko-sensei." Soujiro replied, smiling and rummaging around for a cloth.  
  
"Hiko-sensei . . .?" Kenshin asked, his eyes wide, pointing at Soujiro. "He's . . ."  
  
"My student." Hiko said bluntly. "Use that bucket." Kenshin nodded again and headed out the door.  
  
"You were always such a slave driver . . ." Kenshin mumbled as he passed by, still keeping his gaze on Soujiro's back. Kenshin sighed once more as his gaze fell to the floor. He exited the hut without saying a word to Kaoru, who stood with a sad expression on her face, hands clasped in front of her.  
  
"Found it!" Soujiro exclaimed, holding up a cloth, with which he started to mop up the mess on the hut's wooden floor, ignoring all of the glares directed at him.  
  
'Kenshin . . .'  
  
END  
  
I'll try an write another chapter next weekend . . . people who wanted to see Soujiro think u all r getting more then enough right now ne? ^^; not sure tho . . . 


	13. Chapter 12: Conversations

Note: at the end of this ch, I'm gonna type up about a paragraph of my original fic . . .  
  
emaNneP2: ~nods~ I wish my chapters were longer also . . . dun have the patience / time for it tho ^^; gomen  
  
Aiko-chan: don't worry I dun know a lot've Japanese words also ^^ baka deshi = stupid pupil/student  
  
moonlight2: o_O hehe . . . lots of ideas for me ^^ an nuthin wrong w/being paranoid :P  
  
Hitokiri-san: really? Seems choppy to me . . . I may rewrite the Kenshin Soujiro first meeting . . . maybe ^^; thanks!  
  
Lord Cirenmas: thanks for the review! Can't believe I got so many for 1 chapter . . . If I didn't reply to ur review . . . I did read it I just forgot to reply _ gomen!  
  
Chapter 12- "Conversations"  
  
On his hands and knees, Soujiro carefully wiped up the spilt water with a cloth. Hiko alternated from glaring at his still smiling baka deshi and at the three un-invited visitors who took up his doorway. There was a peaceful silence until Kenshin disappeared in the darkness, the wooden bucket in tow.  
  
"Why did you just stand there?!!" Yahiko bellowed, turning chibi.  
  
"Exactly! If you couldn't speak you should have started a fight!" Misao shouted, also going chibi and pointing at Kaoru who sweatdropped and then turned serious and looked at the floor.  
  
"I suppose so . . ." she murmured, her eyes sad. Soujiro blinked and looked at the discussion out of the corner of his eye. Misao and Yahiko slapped their foreheads simultaneously.  
  
"Just when it counts, this again." Yahiko sighed.  
  
"So . . ." The three un-inviteds (A/N: I made I word! ^^;) turned to face Hiko, who glared at them.  
  
'Hiko Seijuurou.' Yahiko thought. 'The current master of Hiten Mitsurugi.'  
  
'The master who taught Kenshin all he knows.' Kaoru said to herself.  
  
'But first, above all else~' Misao thought lastly.  
  
"Let me ask you something." Misao and Yahiko chorused. "How old are you?" Soujiro quickly finished cleaning up the mess and walked across the room, sitting down on the floor beside Hiko.  
  
"Forty-three." Hiko replied calmly. "Is there something wrong with that?" Soujiro sweatdropped as the two 'kids' started shouting at eachother.  
  
"These are really interesting guests Hiko-sensei." Soujiro whispered, smiling first at his teacher then at the un-welcomed 'guests'. Hiko just snorted.  
  
"How can Kenshin and this guy be so good?" Yahiko shouted, going swirly eyed and pointing a finger at Misao.  
  
"Wait a minute, you mean Himura just looks young?" Misao screamed back, also going @_@ and pointing her finger at Yahiko.  
  
"Yeah, he's twenty-eight."  
  
"Twenty-eight?!"  
  
"I got it! Hiten Mitsurugi must have a secret technique for the elderly!" Yahiko yelled, grinning.  
  
"All right!" Misao yelled back at him. "I'm gonna learn it too when I'm old!" Misao blinked and then turned and pointed at Soujiro, who smiled back at her. "Wait . . . then how old is this guy??"  
  
"This guy?" Soujiro asked, looking up at Hiko.  
  
"Baka, that's you." Hiko growled down at his smiling student. He bopped Soujiro on the head. "That's why I call you baka deshi, baka deshi!"  
  
"How old am I?" Soujiro said, repeating the question. "Um, I'm eighteen this year."  
  
"Eighteen??" Misao shouted, pointing a quivering hand at Soujiro. "B~But . . . you look as old as Himura!!" Soujiro sweatdropped and shrugged as Misao turned and grinned at Yahiko. "That means your wrong!"  
  
"Shuddup! Maybe he's just a novice!" Yahiko shouted back at her, waving his fist first at her then to Soujiro. "Yeah! I bet he just started learning!"  
  
"You're right! And it'll take him years and years to master it!" Misao shouted, turning on Soujiro also. "You just started right??"  
  
"Eh? Um . . ." Soujiro turned to look at Hiko with a question mark popping up on his head. "Am I a novice?" And he received another bop on the top of his head.  
  
"Baka deshi!!" Hiko bellowed, glaring down on his student and then to the three who were standing nervously by the door. "Can I go on??" Kaoru nodded and grabbed the two by their gi collars, tugging them backwards.  
  
"Please continue, Hiko-san." Kaoru said, holding the pair still.  
  
"I know you know Kenshin, but why are you here?" Hiko asked, sitting back down and looking at them. Soujiro rubbed the top of his head, feeling for any lumps, before rummaging around and finding a pillow for Kaoru. He placed it on the ground and, smiling, quietly told her to sit on it.  
  
Misao turned to Yahiko. "Go for it, Yahiko."  
  
"So Kaoru could see Kenshin." Yahiko said, going chibi, before turning to Misao. "Your turn."  
  
"Yeah, so Kaoru could see Himura." Kaoru blinked as both of them turned to face her. "You're up."  
  
"Well . . ." Kaoru mumbled, "it was . . . to see Kenshin . . ." She stopped talking.  
  
"And?" Misao and Yahiko asked, both leaning towards her. She blinked and looked a bit lost. The two of them thrust their faces close to hers, both going chibi once again.  
  
"What did you come here for?" Misao shouted, glaring at her.  
  
"To fight at his side?" Yahiko asked, also glaring at Kaoru, who looked more lost now.  
  
"To go back to Tokyo with him?" Misao shouted again. "To confess your love for him?"  
  
"How do they expect her to answer when they're bellowing at her like that?" Soujiro mumbled quietly, standing next to his sensei. Hiko sighed and shook his head.  
  
"I ~ er ~ well ~ no . . ." Kaoru murmured, looking at her hands that rested in her lap. "I wanted to see him, so I left Tokyo . . . at that time, I really didn't think I would ever see him again. At the Shirobeko, I thought I would hit him or something . . ." Misao and Yahiko sweatdropped. "But . . . when I saw his face I just couldn't . . ."  
  
"Hmm. I see." Hiko smirked and stroked his chin with his hand. "I don't know what you see in that wooden statue, but my baka deshi seems to be popular." Soujiro looked over at Hiko who shook his head back at him.  
  
Yahiko stood up slowly and glared at the master of Hiten Mitsurugi. "Who did you call a wooden statue?"  
  
"Yahiko!"  
  
"No matter how much of a master you are, you only know Kenshin as a pupil. The Kenshin we know is definitely not a wooden statue!"  
  
"Don't interrupt, child." Hiko grunted, making Yahiko blink and then growl in anger and Misao break out in giggles.  
  
"Child?!"  
  
"I stopped getting news about my baka deshi at the beginning of the Meiji era." Hiko said, glaring at the three. "I want to know what he's been doing with the skills I taught him. Not from him, but from those I don't know who came to see him~"  
  
Soujiro listened attentively, leaning forward and watching the expressions of the three as they all talked over each other, adding their own bits of information about Kenshin. The three talked for ten minutes or so, and when they finished Hiko signaled Soujiro to get water for them.  
  
"Hai, Hiko-sensei." Soujiro got up and quickly got three earthenware cups and filled them with water, handing them out. "Kaoru-san." He held out the cup, smiling as she took it from him and Kenshin entered the hut again. Everyone looked up immediately except for Hiko.  
  
"Master, where should I put~" Kenshin began, before Hiko cut him off, smirking.  
  
"You spent the last ten years wandering the country, righting wrongs as a vagabond." Hiko said, smirking as Kenshin's eyes narrowed. "It took you fifteen years to figure out the reason for Hiten Mitsurugi ryu? Or were you atoning for the lives you took as Hitokiri Battousai?"  
  
Kenshin put down the buckets full of water and looked at his teacher from the corner of his eyes. "It was . . . both. And because of what I said to you fifteen years ago. Before my eyes, people are suffering. People are in misery. Whatever the reason, I don't want to leave them as they are . . ."  
  
Hiko's smirk grew. "Even though you're a baka deshi, when the time comes to act, you talk like a grownup." Hiko suddenly stood up, gathering his cloak with one hand. "Follow me!" he shouted dramatically. "I will pass down to you, the final mysteries of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu!"  
  
Everyone in the room gasped, except for Hiko of course and Soujiro as well. "What?" Hiko asked, looking around. "As a great-hearted swordsman, I can't let Shishio Makoto take over the country." Soujiro stood up and leant against the wall, smiling still.  
  
"Master . . ."  
  
"And, I don't like leaving things half-completed." Everyone was silent, except for Yahiko and Misao who sweatdropped. "It'd be easiest to do it myself, but after all this time, I'd just rather not deal with it."  
  
"Master . . ." Kenshin tried again, chibi this time. He blinked though, as Hiko turned to face him, his face deadly serious.  
  
"You have a responsibility." Hiko said. "Stop Shishio Makoto." Without further words, Hiko turned and walkout out of the hut's ruined door, with Kenshin trailing behind. Soujiro got out of the hut third, with the rest of them following.  
  
"Kenshin!" Kaoru shouted, making him stop. "I came to Kyoto, without even thinking about the danger . . . are you angry with me?"  
  
Without turning around, his back still turned towards her, Kenshin replied. "Half of me is. But . . . for the other half, I'm somehow . . . relieved." He began walking again. "You don't know where Shishio's men could be hiding, so be careful."  
  
"No need to fear when we're here!" Misao and Yahiko shouted, crossing forearms. Soujiro smiled and quickly ducked into the hut again for a moment.  
  
'Kenshin," Kaoru thought. 'You couldn't even turn around and give me a smile like always.' Her eyes were wide as if in shock. 'But . . . but . . .' Soujiro jumped through the open doorway and lifted up the broken door to semi-close the door frame.  
  
"Kaoru-san." Soujiro tapped her on the shoulder and smiled more when she turned around. "I'm going to escort you three back to where you're staying, if that's fine with you." She nodded wordlessly and he took the lead, on the trail that would lead them back to the Aoiya.  
  
END  
  
Original Fic:  
  
I could say that time had stopped for me, but the truth was that it was just going extremely slowly. The bored, droning voice of my English professor, along with the muted rumblings of thunder outside our prison, created a dreary and torpid symphony that repeated endlessly in my tired ears. Gazing outside the clear, almost inexistent wall separating me from my freedom, I saw the first drop of rain fall from the sky, tears raining down for us.  
I changed positions, resting chin on folded arms, my eyes finally turned to face Hojou Togashi-sensei. I began to think that I had been overdramatic in my previous observations, but a quick glance at the clock told me otherwise.  
  
'When the hell will this class end?? Haven't I suffered enough?!'  
  
oops . . . I lied ^^; said a paragraph an was . . . ~counts~ three paragraphs . . . kinda :P anyone want to read more? It gets more interesting . . . this was borin intro I think ^_^ 


	14. Chapter 13: Discovery and Reunion

Chapter 13: "Discovery and Reunion"  
  
Soujiro smiled as he lead the way down the dirt path, his katana at his side. Misao and Kaoru walked a little ways behind him, with Yahiko trailing at the end, looking at the ground.  
  
"Hmm . . ." The boy became chibi and kept on walking, stroking his chin with one hand. The two girls stopped and turned to look at him.  
  
"What's wrong Yahiko?" Kaoru asked.  
  
"Yeah," Misao added. "You keep on grunting to yourself." Soujiro blinked and stopped, patiently waiting for the others to start walking again.  
  
"There was something I was gonna tell Kenshin, but I can't remember . . ."  
  
"Maybe you'll remember it later." Soujiro said, trying to get them moving again. "I should be back soon, so the faster I drop you three in the city~"  
  
"That's it!" Yahiko shouted. "Aoshi! Shinomori Aoshi! He's in Kyoto!" A question mark popped up above Soujiro's head.  
  
"Shinomori . . . you mean the Oniwabanshuu Okashira?" Kaoru asked, eyes wide.  
  
"I just caught sight of him in the crowd, but I know it was him!" Yahiko bellowed, starting to turn around. "I have to tell Kenshin!"  
  
"That's not really a good idea . . ." Soujiro interjected lightly. "Hiko- sensei won't like it if you interrupt, he gets grouchy."  
  
"That's what old men do." Yahiko growled. Soujiro sweatdropped and scratched his head before Misao grabbed Yahiko by his hair. "Itai!! What're you doing??"  
  
"Is it true? You're not lying?" Misao shouted, a happy grin on her face. Kaoru and Soujiro sweatdropped as Yahiko looked like he was going to bite Misao's hand. "Aoshi-sama is in Kyoto?"  
  
Yahiko blinked. "Aoshi . . . sama?" Soujiro's left hand grabbed the katana's sheath instinctively as Yahiko knocked Misao's hand away and drew his shinai. "Get back Kaoru! She's one of the Oniwabanshuu!"  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"What's the real reason you stuck so close to Kenshin? Backup for Aoshi? Revenge for Hanya and the others?" Yahiko shouted, leveling his shinai tip at Misao.  
  
"Backup . . . revenge?" Misao murmured, blinking. She glared at Yahiko and stepped forwards, bunching her hands into fists. "What's going on?"  
  
"Quit playing innocent!!" Yahiko bellowed at her, taking a step forwards as well. He sweatdropped as Kaoru put her hand on his face and pushed him backwards.  
  
"Both of you should calm down." Kaoru said calmly.  
  
"Kaoru! What're you thinking??" Yahiko shouted, his voice muffled by her hand. Misao blinked as Soujiro put a hand on her shoulder and held her back as well.  
  
"Even if I don't understand all of this, I agree with Kaoru-san." Soujiro said, his perpetual smile in place. "You should try and calm down Misao- san." She blinked again then nodded. Kaoru turned to face Misao.  
  
"I'll tell you."  
  
"Kaoru!!" Yahiko shouted, still with his shinai out.  
  
"Thanks to Misao, I found Kenshin again. Now it's my turn to help her." Kaoru replied, turning a level gaze on the boy.  
  
"Kaoru!" Misao shouted happily, stepping forwards and nearly bumping into Soujiro, who quickly moved out of the way. Kaoru then looked back at the younger girl.  
  
"I never saw Shinomori Aoshi myself. I'm sure of all the details, but I did hear it secondhand. This . . . may be painful for you to hear." Misao's eyes widened.  
  
[Change of Scene]  
  
Shinomori Aoshi walked through Kyoto's semi-crowded streets. His white trench coat moved in the wind as he passed by the colorful stalls, families, and store workers.  
  
"You actually came to Kyoto."  
  
Aoshi stopped and glared down at the shorter young man in a dark blue kimono and white hakama, the shinobi zue sparkling in the sun. He glanced at the large monk and fat man to his right, then at the man in black standing behind Neji.  
  
"I've felt you watching me since this morning." Aoshi said flatly, walking around them. "Only now, have you finally got the courage to meet me." Neji frowned then quickly caught up with Aoshi, walking beside him.  
  
"I apologize for the spying but it was Shishio-sama's orders." Neji said, frowning to himself. He threw the shinobi zue to the side and caught it with his right hand, resting the staff against his other shoulder. "I also have orders for you to come with us."  
  
"I told you before. I have no intention of working for anyone." Aoshi murmured, dead pan as ever. The monk held back the black clad man with one arm.  
  
"You won't be working for us." Neji said, his black eyes watching Aoshi's similarly colored orbs. "Shishio-sama wants to see you, if not for that, we have different ways of gathering information. That should be worth the visit at least."  
  
Neji frowned. 'I could try and take him by force,' Neji thought, gazing at Aoshi who seemed lost in thought. 'It'll cause some disruption though, because of all the people.'  
  
"Show me the way." Neji blinked. "I will see Shishio Makoto." Neji smirked as he took the lead.  
  
[From the capital there is a demon gate under the northeastern sky. On the slopes of Mt. Hiei, famous from olden times as a mountain of ghosts that protected the emperor's castle-]  
  
"We've arrived. Follow me." Neji said, starting down the wooden corridors. The three of the Juppon katana nodded and followed, Aoshi trailing slightly behind them. Neji headed towards Shishio's room and knocked on the door. It creaked open and Yumi poked her head out, an irritable look on her face.  
  
"Houji! I already told you Shishio-sama isn't here!" Yumi shouted, making her younger brother flinch. "Eh? Neji-kun?" Surprise filled her face for a moment before a smile broke out. "You're back!" She gave him a hug, her face buried in his shoulder before she glanced up and sweatdropped at the deadpan faces of the people behind Neji. (A/N: I know Iwanbou grins like an idiot . . . too lazy to think of another word ^^;)  
  
"Ne, Yumi-neechan, you know where Shishio-sama is?" Neji asked, grinning as his sister jumped out of the hug, looking embarrassed. She blinked and then seemed to finally hear his question.  
  
"I'm not sure, I think he's in the training room," she replied, pulling up the sides of her off-shoulders kimono. "I think you should tell him you're back, Neji-kun." Neji nodded, still grinning.  
  
"I was gonna do that nee-chan, that's why I knocked," Neji said, smirking. "Nee-chan, why are you blushing?" Yumi sweatdropped and whapped him on the side of the head.  
  
"I'm not blushing!" she shouted, going chibi before going inside and slamming the door shut.  
  
"Etto . . ." Neji scratched his head then shook his head. When he turned back to the rest of them, he was serious once again. "Let's go see Shishio-sama."  
  
End  
  
A/N: um I could've written more . . . but I have homework to do ^^; in my defense tho . . . I think 4 pgs is enough rite? ~counts~ oops, more like 3 and two tiny little paragraphs . . . buuut it's better then nothing ne? ^^; how can other authors update so often?? ~envious~  
  
btw would anyone be interested in trying to draw Neji? :P I tried myself . . . but it didn't turn out rite ^^; just wonderin . . .  
  
Kurtain: I was gonna try an put some Soujiro fighting action in it . . . something like they r attacked by one of Shishio's men . . . but I'm not sure how to do it . . . an I didn't have enough time to ^^; sorry! An bout the Soujiro x misao thing I'm not really good at writin romance type ones . . . there was a little scene but I dunno if dat's rite ^^;  
  
Hitokiri-san: um . . the fic is basically something I wrote for fun cause I like writing . . . and I didn't have any ideas to write one about a specific anime ^^; it was gonna be a manga I drew but my skills rn't that good . . . u wanna read more? :P  
  
Lord Cirenmas, Craz_Psycho, Dragona 2007: sorry for not writin a more original reply to ur reviews . . but thanks for writing one for me! ^^ I like getting reviews . . . an I'll try an post again nxt weekend . . skwls killing me! _  
  
School: ~chokes tenken~ Tenken: taskete!!! O_O 


	15. Chapter 14: New Additions

Chapter 14: "New Additions (2)"  
  
A faint smile played across Neji's face, as he led his little group down the halls of Shishio's fortress. He absentmindedly twisted a section of the shinobi zue, making the hidden blade slide back and forth. Turning a corner, Neji blinked and his smile disappeared as he saw Houji opening the door to the training room.  
  
Neji's snuck up behind Shishio's right hand man, his zori making no sound on the wooden floor. Peering around Houji, Neji saw a very dead soldier hanging from the rafters with a sword and a spear stabbed clear through him. He then glanced to the side and saw Shishio standing in his purple kimono, his sword by his side.  
  
"Shishio-sama," Houji began stepping forwards as the soldier was suddenly slashed in half. "The sword . . . left the scabbard . . .?" Houji finished, half-murmuring to himself.  
  
'He doesn't train, yet his speed is still the same,' Neji thought to himself, hiding the blade again. 'Sugoi, Shishio-sama. Yumi-nechan, don't worry, he~ ' Neji blinked as Houji flinched, as the sound of sizzling meat filled the room. Neji's black eyes flashed up as the soldier's upper half burst into orange flames.  
  
"Homura Dama, it's been a while since I saw that," Neji murmured, making Houji flinch again and turn around. The teen smirked at the expression on the older man's face before stepping into the room forwards and bowing slightly to Shishio.  
  
"What'd he do, Shishio-sama?" Neji asked, peering at the charred corpse on the floor. "To deserve that?" Neji grinned.  
  
"I caught him trying to steal a sword," Shishio replied, a slight smirk on his face as well. He turned to his nervous assistant. "Did you want anything, Houji?"  
  
"Ye-," Houji cleared his throat and shook his head to clear his surprise, "Yes. I received word of Neji's return but . . ."  
  
"I got here first?" Neji added, grinning. Ignoring the glare Houji sent him, Neji stepped forwards and pushed the carcass out of the way with the shinobi zue. "I just got back a few minutes ago, Shishio-sama, and I brought all of the Juppon Katana from Eastern Japan."  
  
Neji stepped to the side to allow those following him to enter the room. Shishio walked towards them and smirked. "It's been a while, Anji. Have you completed your training?"  
  
"Yes," Anji replied shortly, his black-rimmed eyes not changing in the slightest. Shishio nodded slightly and moved his gaze onto the black clad man next to the monk.  
  
"Henya, I've been waiting for you. Your skills haven't gotten rusty, have they?" Shishio asked.  
  
The flap of material tied around the small man's lower face moved slightly as the man exhaled. "Hardly." Another small nod, and Shishio was opposite of the short, fat man with a huge grin on his stupid face.  
  
"Iwanbou, you look as stupid as ever," Shishio said, looking down on the man. The grin spread wider on Iwanbou's fat face. Neji shook his head and sighed.  
  
'Fools like this want to protect Shishio-sama?' Neji thought as Iwanbou scratched his stomach. 'Foolishness, they wouldn't last a minute against Battousai.'  
  
"Gufu." Neji sweatdropped.  
  
The bandaged man then turned to the man in the white trench coat. "And you . . . you're the first outsider to enter this fortress. Welcome." Aoshi turned to face Shishio and his glare didn't change.  
  
"Let me say this now, I'm here only for information on Battousai," Aoshi said, darkly, "I have no intention of working for you." Once again, Aoshi made no reaction even when Neji, Houji, and Henya turned to glare at him.  
  
'Is he such a fool? Or just foolish enough to believe he can fight all of us?' Neji thought, a dark glare fixed on Aoshi's face. 'I'll destroy him myself.' Neji slowly moved his footing to a fighting stance.  
  
Shishio stroked his chin with one black-gloved hand. "Well, that should be fine." Henya and Houji blinked and turned to face their master, Neji continued facing the Okashira but his dark eyes flickered to rest on his master. "I have a little theory about you. Everyone has his or her own position in life. There are those born to lead, those born to follow, and those, incompatible with anyone, born to live alone.  
  
I don't need someone like you working for me. Someone who keeps to themselves is the key to dissolving an organization. But I like you. So what are we going to do? I could offer you information about Battousai or~"  
  
"~Or, I could help you destroy Battousai," Aoshi replied, glaring at Shishio. Neji blinked and looked around at his fellow Juppon Katana. They were in a semi-circle shape, starting with Shishio opposite of Aoshi and curving in his direction.  
  
'Shishio-sama has his sword but, I doubt he'll enjoy having to destroy this fool by himself,' Neji thought, fingering the section of the shinobi zue. Letting the shinobi zue slide from his shoulder as naturally as possible, Neji prepared for the attack. 'This time~'  
  
"Don't be impatient. You can fight Battousai purely of your own free will. You'll be doing it for us both," Shishio added, his smirk not diminishing.  
  
"In other works, not as your underling, but your equal."  
  
Neji frowned as a silence fell in the room. 'Damn Shinomori! Does he want us to kill him?'  
  
"Do you have news of Battousai?" Aoshi asked, still staring at Shishio, who turned to glance shortly at Houji.  
  
"After his fight with Chou, we haven't heard anything . . ." Houji said after a pause. Aoshi exhaled slightly and turned towards the door.  
  
"Then I have no need to speak with you."  
  
Neji blinked as he remembered something. "There's one clue," Neji said, making the man stop dead in his tracks and turn to glare at him. He smirked back calmly. "The old man that you met before, Shinomori, wouldn't he be in contact with Himura? We could get information if we attacked the Aoiya and tortured him."  
  
[Flashback]  
  
Neji leant in the dark alleyway, his dark blue gi against the wooden walls. He turned his head slightly to gaze upon the cloth-covered benches of a outside café. An old man with a walking stick came up to one of the low, knee height benches and sat down. A smirk spread across Neji's face as he saw Aoshi come and lean against one of the café's posts.  
  
'Damn, I can't hear them clearly . . .' Neji thought, straining to hear their conversation through the idle chattering of passer byers and shop owners. 'But, that old man . . . isn't he . .'  
  
Aoshi's eye narrowed slightly and he raised his sword just as slightly. Neji blinked and fled back into the alleyway. 'Kuso, he has good senses. Maybe . . . he would be useful to Shishio-sama?' Neji thought to himself, walking down the dark alleyway and sensing his three companions up ahead.  
  
"Shall we go greet the Okashira?" Neji asked, a smirk on his face.  
  
[End Flashback]  
  
The others had fallen silent. Neji twirled the shinobi zue around. "Well?"  
  
"Hmm. If that's true . . . well, what are you going to do, Okashira?" Shishio asked, glancing at the man who was silent for a few moments.  
  
"I don't care." Aoshi said flatly, making Neji raise his eyebrows. "Battousai's death is my all." Neji smiled inwardly at the triumphant look in Shishio's eyes, then wondered when Anji closed his eyes.  
  
'It's like . . . he's praying for Aoshi?' Neji thought, before being broke out of his thoughts by Shishio.  
  
"We have an alliance then." Shishio said. "Neji, find him a room." Neji nodded and rested the shinobi zue on his shoulder once again.  
  
"Follow me, Shinomori." The young man turned the corner and walked off, the silent trench-coated figure trailing behind him. Neji walked slowly, trying to listen to the final conversation between Houji and Shishio.  
  
"Houji, choose the soldiers for the attack on the Aoiya. The rest of you are free to go." Shishio ordered, starting to walk off. Houji nodded and followed his master down the hallway.  
  
"Shishio-sama . . . is this right?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Is this right? He's . . . certainly very strong, but it seems as though he once betrayed his comrade." Houji said tentatively. "He looks at people like he was destroying them. . ."  
  
Shishio slowed down slightly then turned to face Houji. "It's fine." A smirk appeared on his burnt face. "We'll be doing some destroying of our own." Neji grinned as he quickened his pace.  
  
"Right here, Shinomori." Neji turned to bow slightly to the man, showing him the room, with his face as deadpan as the Okashira's.  
  
END  
  
Only gonna make 2 notes this time . . .  
  
note 1 - in the anime Shishio hacks a piece of meat (beef?) hanging from the rafters instead of the dead soldier, which I think is . . . stupid to say the least ~glares at animators~ I doubt Shishio would spend his time slicing meat! Grrrrrrr . . . its really stupid! Who hangs meat and slashes it with a sword? Da dead body isn't dat graphic! . . . well maybe when it gets cut in half but . . . a chunk of meat?? O_O gomen . . ranting I think  
  
Note 2 - I dun really have high opinion of iwanbou or Houji . . . so if I call iwanbou "the fat idiot" or anything like dat . . . sorry ne ^^; an Houji he kinda annoys me . . .  
  
Kurtain - etto . . . ~holds up hands~ gomen kurtain-san but am not good at writin romance fics . . . also dat if other ppl dun like sou/Misao relationship they'll get angry at me ^^; ne . . . that sounds like a good fic, but not for me to write ~sweatdrops~ u want to try it? ~not bein sarcastic~  
  
Craz_psycho - thanks for likin neji :P an also for da review ne? ^^  
  
Lord Cirenmas - thank u for da review cirenmas-san ^_^ 


	16. Chapter 15: The Attack and Killing of Ti...

Um.Chapter 15: "The Attack and Killing of Time"  
  
Neji yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth, as he walked through the wooden corridor to Houji's office. Aoshi trailed silently behind the shorter man, not saying a word.  
  
'Dammit, how come I'm stuck with Mr. No Emotions?' Neji growled to himself, twirling the shinobi zue in his hand. 'I'd rather talk with Yumi- neechan or play go with her . . . even hunting down the remaining Juppon Katana would be more fun.' He stopped and knocked on the door on his left. "Houji, it's Neji." A muffled come in from Shishio's right hand man came from behind the door. "After you, Shinomori."  
  
The taller man nodded slightly and pushed the door open, walking through. Neji sighed, scratched his head, and followed suit. Houji sat behind a desk that had books and papers strewn about on it's top. "Ah, Shinomori-san I have something to talk to you about."  
  
Aoshi merely stood and watched the other man, while Neji moved over to the side of the door and leant against the wall, still playing with his staff. "What is it," Aoshi asked.  
  
"I sent the Kyousoushuu to the Aoiya a short time ago. Soon, we will have the way to find our answers," Houji said, folding his arms on the desk.  
  
"The Kyousoushuu?" Aoshi asked, his black bangs covering his dead looking eyes.  
  
"They were picked from our soldiers for effectiveness in the dark. They're a unit of spies who specialize in night attacks," Houji replied.  
  
"Feh." Houji turned to fix a glare on the youngest man in the room. Neji opened one of his eyes and smirked at the older man. "They're so noisy, a drunk old man would wake up if they're in the same room." Houji spluttered a moment before regaining his calm.  
  
"Anyways," Houji continued, glaring at the young man then turning to look at Aoshi. "You said the Oniwabanshuu's original headquarters is now just an inn. Like a rat's nest. It'd only be a waste to send the Juppon Katana." Neji's smirk changed to a grin and he began to say something. Houji overrode him quickly. "Even a handkerchief is too much to catch rats."  
  
"If you sent them only a while ago, even a handkerchief will take some time to catch rats," Neji said, stretching. "I doubt they'll be back for a few hours." Houji nodded. Aoshi turned and abruptly left the room. Neji grinned at Houji. "He's bored with this as well." He made as if to go but then looked back at Shishio's advisor. "It may have been a waste to send one of us, but it would've got the job done." Houji's frown deepened as the young man laughed and left the room.  
  
[Eight O'clock in the morning]  
  
Houji frowned and looked up at the clock. "They're late. . . What could they be doing?" He flinched visibly as a soldier burst into the room.  
  
"Houji-sama!! Come quick! The Kyousoushuu have returned!" Houji nodded, a look of relief coming into his face as he rushed to the front gate after the soldier. He stopped dead, the look of relief melting into one of shock as he saw his elite soldier's condition.  
  
His clothes were ripped and blood was dripping down his face. Wax dripped down his hands from where two candle stubs still sat. His eyes were rolled back into his skull and he wobbled on his feet, unconsciously attempting to keep his balance.  
  
"How . . . could they have been defeated?" Houji murmured.  
  
"Would it sound childish if I said 'I told you so'?" Neji asked, smirking. Houji turned to glare at the staff-wielder as he emerged from the ranks of curious and shocked soldiers.  
  
"Yes it would," Houji grated, balling his hands into fists. Neji strolled over to him, resting his shinobi zue on his shoulder.  
  
"Glad I didn't say it then," Neji replied, smirking still as he glanced at the spy, who moaned once before crashing face first onto the floor. Houji moved towards his spy and gasped as he saw a message carved into the flesh of his back. Neji also went closer to the fallen man and peered over Houji's shoulder. " 'I'll be waiting at the lookout. Come alone. Okina.' That's the old man, right?" Neji blinked and turned to face Aoshi, who had just appeared in the throng.  
  
"It will take a large handkerchief to destroy these rats," Aoshi said, glancing at Houji's back. "Okina of the Oniwabanshuu was my teacher, and the only one who could stand before the previous Okashira." Houji glared at the trench-coated man from the corner of his eye, his teeth gritted. "I don't know if even the Juppon Katana you're so proud of could win. . ."  
  
Neji also glared at Aoshi, fingering the section in his staff. He bared his teeth slightly in a smirk. "I think . . . the Juppon Katana would be able to defeat an old man," he said evenly, trying to keep his temper. He sweatdropped as he remembered his previous thoughts on some of the less . . . qualified members of his group.  
  
'The fat blob verses the old man . . .' Neji thought to himself. 'Well . . . the qualified members of the Juppon Katana could take on one old man, even if he was a match for the previous Okashira. But then, if he taught Shinomori Aoshi, a man who caught Shishio-sama's eye . .' Aoshi glared darkly at something unseen, then turned and left through the door the spy had entered. "Eh?" Neji turned to Houji. "Did Shishio-sama allow him to leave?"  
  
Houji didn't answer but turned and strode back inside the maze of corridors, in the general direction of his office. Neji frowned slightly, shouldered the shinobi zue, and ran down the corridors in a different direction. He stopped in front of a shut wooden door and knocked.  
  
"Who is it?" a woman asked. Neji grinned.  
  
"Guess," Neji said. He grinned again to hear her laugh and open the door, smiling still. Yumi turned to the bandaged man recline in a chair and smiled.  
  
"Shishio-sama, it's Neji-kun."  
  
"Ah. I heard there was a disturbance. What happened?" Shishio asked, inhaling the smoke from his pipe. Neji wandered into the room after his sister and shut the door quietly.  
  
"Houji's going to run in here in a few minutes with a better explanation than mine, Shishio-sama," Neji said, scratching his head. "Maybe you'd prefer to listen to his." Shishio blew out a cloud of smoke and smirked, nodding.  
  
"Shishio-sama, would you wish to play shogi?" Yumi asked, nodding her head slightly to the board set up in the far side of the room. Another cloud of smoke drifted into the air.  
  
"Play with Neji."  
  
"Hai, Shishio-sama."  
  
Neji moved over to the table and sat across from his smiling sister. They began playing (A/N: I don't know how to play shogi ^^;) and a few moments later, Neji looked up.  
  
"One thing, Shishio-sama," he stated, looking up at the man. Shishio nodded, his eyes closed. "Shinomori left the area, I asked Houji if it was fine with you, but he rushed off to his office."  
  
"Is that so . . ." Shishio murmured, opening his eyes and watching the gray smoke curl out from his pipe bowl. There was a sharp knock on the door. Shishio lazily glanced over to Neji, who mouthed a name. "Houji, come in."  
  
The man came in quickly, a slight look of agitation on his face. He bowed slightly to the bandaged man and then began to tell of that morning's event. Shishio listened while twirling his pipe between his fingers.  
  
"So, the attack on the Aoiya was a failure."  
  
"I must apoligize . . ." Houji murmured, bowing his head. "I foolishly underestimated them . . . In recompense Juppon Katana, Houji of the Hundred Sense will go himself . . ."  
  
"There's no need. I heard that Aoshi has already gone to meet that challenge." Shishio replied, eyes closed.  
  
"But~"  
  
"I have no need for his interference. Your life is more important." Shishio stated, making sweat break out on his advisor's forehead. "By the way, do you believe in hell?"  
  
"Hell . . .?" Houji repeated, thinking a moment before giving a steadier gaze to his leader. "No. Good men and evil men are made of the same flesh. In the end, they both rot and return to earth.  
  
Shishio smirked once. "I might have known you'd be so rational. But the truth is, I believe in Hell. Take the legendary Hitokiri Battousai. This Okina is taking off his mask of a friendly old man to destroy Shinomori Aoshi, who lives only to say that he killed Battousai. And the Meiji government, who cast me into the flames to conceal their own sins. While these men of violence wash away blood with blood crawl upon this world, is it not suitable to call it Hell?"  
  
During Shishio's speech, Neji had paused in the game, glancing up with blank eyes at his sister, Houji, and the man his sister loved. Looking quickly back at the game, he moved a stone. "Check."  
  
"Eh??"  
  
Shishio suddenly stood up and walked towards Houji, who took a few steps backwards. The burnt man pulled off one glove and said, "I don't think you're prepared for this. After all, there's no getting out of Hell alive. Houji, you're in need of purification."  
  
Neji looked up as he heard Houji's back hit the wall, and his scream that echoed through the room. 'Sounds like we're killing him, or something,' Neji thought, sweatdropping.  
  
"Shut up," Shishio stated, pressing his burnt palm against Houji's forehead. Houji's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open.  
  
"How . . ."  
  
"Ten years ago when my entire body was burned, my sweat glands were completely destroyed. I lost the ability to regulate my body heat through perspiration. According to the doctors, I shouldn't be able to live sustaining such a high temperature." Shishio smirked. "It's what I have left from the flames of Hell."  
  
Neji heard Houji's brief exhalation as Shishio lifted his hand off of his forehead. "It's not just my arms. Legs. Belly. Chest. My entire body continues to burn. And of course," Shishio said, pointing to his head. "Here as well. So my voice became pure heat, without a trace of coolness. And one day I began to speak the truth.  
  
Man's true nature is violence, and this world is Hell. Himura Battousai denies his true nature and desperately clings to reason. The new government hides the sins of the past and deceives Meiji Japan with its ideals. Equally small, equally fragile. I raise my voice with my blazing-hot mind, "This is wrong." Only through violence can we live with the capacity to be a strong nation. This is indeed Hell."  
  
Shishio paused to gaze at Houji. "You're shaking, Houji. Are you scared?" A grin appeared on the other man's face.  
  
"No, quite the reverse. I'm shaking with joy . . . All those I've met serving the new government were shrunken fools, hardly worth remembering. But I finally chanced to meet a man of true caliber, greater than I had ever imagined. I'm honored to build a new Japan with this man!"  
  
A smirk appeared on Shishio's face, to match the look of exuberance on his subordinate's. "You're ready . . . I'm relying on you, Houji."  
  
Yumi took another sip of wine before murmuring to her brother. "Another one loyal to violence is born . . ." Neji grinned and moved a stone another spot. "Don't tell me . ."  
  
"Check, Yumi-neechan."  
  
[Change scene]  
  
Soujiro added more wood to the fire, watching the glowing embers that floated in the air. He brushed them aside as he picked up his sword that rested against the log and slipped it through his obi. The blue-clad man tapped his foot three times on the dirt ground and disappeared in a flurry of dust.  
  
'Hiko-sensei is still training with Himura-san . . .' Soujiro thought to himself, dodging an imaginary enemy and swiftly reappearing behind him. His smile grew wider. 'I wonder how good Himura-san is.'  
  
He jumped high in the air and smashed down on another enemy, his smile firmly in place. 'I wonder what happened to that girl . . . she ran off so suddenly.' He had just gotten back a while ago, running back from town using his natural speed, not Shikuchi. Soujiro tripped over a root that stuck out of the ground and flew through the air.  
  
Sweatdropping, he spun in midair and managed to land on his feet, kicking up a large amount of dust. He sighed and sheathed his sword. "Too dark to train anymore." He looked around. "Hiko-sensei doesn't show any sign of finishing soon . ." The blue clad man sighed, still smiling, and sat down on the log in front of the kiln.  
  
END  
  
Notice: if u guys have free time, um . . . feel free to check fictionpress.com ^^; I've posted my story there under Althus Silverwing, if ur bored :P  
  
For once . . I like this ch title ~grins~ it has a twist, wonder if people will get it tho? Wat do u think the title means/refers to? Quiz time! ^^; actually, dun think I did this well, but I'm sleepy and I wanna read a new book I've got! ^^ it kinda died halfway through, there was a lot of talking . . . I got bored o_O gomen! I told u guys I'm lazy before I think . . or was that other . . .  
  
Momoku: ~scratches head~ etto . . . I never remember saying that I don't like it/believe that it's a good pairing ^^; I just said that I'm not good at writing it, eg. I can't write romance fics, I can't think of the right situations. I've read a few Soujiro/Misao fics before, and I like them. I just can't write them ^^; I'll try reading that if I get a chance . .  
  
Lord Cirenmas: arigatou for da review once again! ^^ 


	17. Chapter 16: Torn

Notes: GOMEEENNN!! ~shouts + bows~ gomen gomen . . . I've been busy . . . and . . . my ideas have died ^^; multiple times . . . not really an excuse ~sweatdrops~ sorry anyway . . if there are any reviewers left? :P  
  
Chapter 16: Torn  
  
Neji knocked on the wooden door, barely glancing at the two guards standing behind him. Resting his metal staff on his shoulder, he sighed and waited. A minute passed. He turned to the two black-clad, spear-wielding guards.  
  
"You're certain Shishio-sama wanted me to come?" Neji asked, glaring at them. They nodded as one.  
  
"Hai, Komagata-san," one of the guards said, not meeting the younger man's gaze. Neji scratched his head and blinked as the door creaked open. All three men turned to face the door and a sleepy looking Yumi.  
  
"Yumi-neechan, ohayou."  
  
"Ohayou Neji-kun . . . did Shishio-sama call you?" Yumi asked, wiping her eyes. She wore a plain kimono and no makeup. Neji nodded.  
  
"Is Shishio-sama awake yet? Or, should I come back later?" he asked, grinning at her. She flushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.  
  
"Just . . .come in, Neji-kun." Yumi leant out of the door and grabbed her brother by the collar, dragging him inside. Once she shut the door, she yawned and padded over to where she and Shishio slept. She poked her head out and looked at Neji again. "Wait right there." She smiled then went inside.  
  
Neji slumped against the wall and waited. A few minutes later, Shishio walked out in his normal purple kimono with Yumi following him. "Neji, I need you to go check on something for me."  
  
"What is it, Shishio-sama?" Neji asked, straightening and taking a step from the wall. Shishio opened his mouth then glanced at Yumi.  
  
"Yumi, go get changed," Shishio said, waving distantly with a hand. "You don't have to stand there without being dressed." Neji sweatdropped as his sister nodded and went back inside the room, shutting the door behind her.  
  
'It's not like we're brother and sister . . .' Neji thought to himself. 'And, she was wearing a kimono after all . . .' He blinked and focused as he saw Shishio gazing at him.  
  
"Neji, I want you to go to the Tokyo harbor." Shishio sat down on the couch and rested his bandaged chin on his glove-less palm. He waited until Neji nodded. "Go to the warehouse at the end of the dock, inside there will be a man. Ask him if my ship is completed."  
  
"Your ship?" Neji repeated, blinking. Shishio kept his dark eyes fixed on Neji's. The bandaged man nodded slowly, once. "What would you need a ship for?"  
  
"A ship. The Rengoku. Do you remember the coming of the Black Ships?" Neji nodded uncertainty.  
  
'Everyone knows the Black Ships,' Neji thought. 'But . . .'  
  
"The Rengoku will cause that fear to sweep the city, once again." Shishio clenched his hand into a fist, his eyes burning into Neji's. "We will enter Tokyo Bay and raze it to the ground. We shall crush the weak Meji government in the turmoil that follows. The fools think we mean to burn it to the ground, so we shall use my trump-card and bombard it until the flames burn as hot as the fire inside of me."  
  
Neji gaped at Shishio, caught up in his words, before swallowing. "And . . . you want me to check up on, your ship. That . . will do all of that.. ." He blinked. "Why. . . did you tell Yumi-neechan to leave the room?"  
  
"I told her to change."  
  
"She's my sister, it doesn't matter if I saw her in her sleeping kimono . . . You're keeping this secret from her?" Neji said, looking wide- eyed at Shishio, who took out a thin-stemmed pipe from his kimono sleeve and lit it.  
  
"And you must keep this secret from her as well." He inhaled the smoke.  
  
"But, she's my sister!" Neji growled, narrowing his eyes. "You're telling me to lie to her?" Shishio glared up from his pipe-bowl and bit down on the stem.  
  
"I'm ordering you to keep silent," Shishio said, gratingly. "Where does your loyalty lay, Neji?" Neji swallowed.  
  
'If I say I'm loyal to nee-chan . . .what would he do?' Neji thought. 'Would he let me stay, or would he make me leave? Or ensure my loyalty?' Neji looked up as the door creaked open and Yumi stepped out, dressed in her normal off-shoulders kimono. Her hair was tied back in a bun, her bangs hanging in front of her face. She smiled at Neji then moved over to Shishio to smile at him.  
  
"Do you want some sake, Shishio-sama?" she asked. Shishio didn't reply, his gaze still on Neji's face.  
  
"To you, Shishio-sama," Neji murmured, head half-bowed.  
  
Shishio grunted and leaned back more on the couch. He flapped his hand to excuse the young man.  
  
"I will do ask you asked, Shishio-sama," Neji said, bowing abruptly and turning to leave the room.  
  
TBC  
  
This was just supposed to show how Neji's more loyal to his sister than Shishio, but has to be loyal to Shishio b/c his sister's happiness is involved . . . kinda . . . ~sweatdrops~ did it work? It was all original for once ^^;  
  
Moonlight2: hehe, sorry about that ^^; this is an all neji chapter, but if you click on the little arrow in da right hand corner . . . you'll see the next chapter is all about Soujiro ^_^ I was gonna write a shorter one here, and then do the Soujiro part, but . . . the title sounds better if you just have one part :P oh . . . ~grins~ thanks for the good ideas! Never thought of that . . hmmmmmm ~grins again~ 


	18. Chapter 17: Is this jealousy?

Well . . . I lied ^^; isn't all about Soujiro . . . but . . . he's there, I'll insert some more of what he's thinking in-between . . . ~grins + bows~ gomen  
  
Chapter 17: Is this jealousy?  
  
Soujiro blinked and sat up straighter on the log. The fire had burnt low, almost dying. He sweatdropped and jumped up, rushing to the pile of wood stacked next to the kiln. Stacking a few more sticks of wood on the fire, Soujiro rubbed his eyes.  
  
"I must have fallen asleep . . ." He looked about the area then up at the blue sky. "Hiko-sensei and Himura-san still haven't come back from the waterfalls," Soujiro murmured, poking at the fire with a stick. It flared back to life. "I wonder how good Himura-san is . . . Maybe Hiko-sensei would let me fight him. I haven't fought anyone before, other then Hiko- sensei of course. But . . . he was Hitokiri Battousai . . ."  
  
He heard a slight rustling sound and turned quickly to it. Hiko strode out of the woods his cape catching on branches. Soujiro smiled and bowed to him, the stick still in his hand.  
  
"Ohayou, Hiko-sensei," Soujiro said cheerily. Hiko grunted in return. Soujiro glanced around his master at the shorter, orange haired wanderer behind him. "Ohayou, Himura-san." Kenshin looked up and blinked, then smiled at Soujiro.  
  
"Ohayou, Seta-dono," Kenshin replied, before getting elbowed by their teacher.  
  
"Idiot, pay attention," Hiko grunted. Kenshin sweatdropped and nodded. "Soujiro, go sit down somewhere. I need room to teach my baka deshi Kuzuryuusen." Soujiro blinked once, then sat down on the log again, still smiling. He watched as his teacher and his predecessor walked a short ways apart and faced each other. Hiko took in a breath and snorted it out.  
  
"Don't move, or else you'll be killed," Hiko said, drawing his sword silently. Kenshin blinked then nodded.  
  
"Hiko-sensei, you never warned me about that . . ."  
  
Hiko spared a quick glare at his smiling student on the log then looked back at Kenshin. "First a review of the types of attacks in kenjutsu. First, the Karatake, Kesagiri, reverse Kesagiri, right Nagi, left Nagi, right upward cut, left upward cut, and the Sakakaze. Then, there is the stroke to the chest, at the shortest range, the Tsuki." Hiko held the hilt of his sword with two hands and brought the blade up. "In all the schools, there is no killing technique that does not aim for one of these nine points. Defense stances were developed to correspond to these same nine points. But . . ."  
  
Soujiro blinked and leaned slightly forward as his teacher blurred out of view, blazing past Kenshin and leaving a small slash on each of the nine points. He slid to a stop on his knees behind the stunned rurouni.  
  
"Nobody can defend against this move, if you use the godlike speed of Hiten Mitsurugi and strike all the nine points at once. This is the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, Kuzuryuusen."  
  
"I . . ."  
  
Hiko and Soujiro looked at the stunned man, Hiko with a smirk and Soujiro with a smile. Soujiro, for one, looked slightly surprised. "Shikuchi . . ." Soujiro murmured, under his breath, looking thoughtful.  
  
"I couldn't have moved an inch . . ." Kenshin finished, eyes wide. Hiko took a more relaxed stance and rested his sword against his shoulder, the smirk still on his face.  
  
"Having the wild attack technique of Ryuususen in all nine attacks, combined with the charging techniques, makes the avoidance of the strikes impossible. This is the technique I'm best at."  
  
Soujiro stood up and stretched, still envisioning Kenshin's reaction to the technique. The silence hung in the air. Kenshin swallowed, looking serious.  
  
"This . . . is the ougi . . ."  
  
Hiko nodded then grinned, letting his sword drop to his side. "Now, quit standing there admiring it and give it a try." Kenshin turned chibi and sweatdropped.  
  
"Just . . . Just like that?"  
  
Hiko sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "What are you talking about? You can't learn this technique by studying footwork. It's when you've felt its force and you're on your hands and knees that you learn." He glanced at the chibi Kenshin. "It's the way I always trained you." He sighed and also glanced at the smiling Soujiro. "And how I train this baka deshi as well."  
  
Soujiro smiled again. "It must mean it works, ne Hiko-sensei?" Hiko sighed and opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"Seta-dono . . . You also went through all of that?" Kenshin said, sweatdropping as he remembered all the beatings he got during the training sessions as a kid. Soujiro nodded, still with his smile spread across his face. "How did you survive? Then . . . I think I was lucky to survive as well . . ." He sweatdropped again.  
  
"Well, it's all because I was clever," Hiko said, stroking his chin with one hand. "I gave both of you as much as you could take. It's all thanks to me." His students went chibi simultaneously. Hiko suddenly turned serious again. "If you understand, try it. At full strength."  
  
Kenshin stayed silent a moment, then fluidly drew his sword. Holding it in the same stance Hiko did, he closed his eyes.  
  
'I couldn't move a muscle,' Kenshin thought. 'But . . . I saw them. I saw all nine points of attack.'  
  
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. Kuzuryuusen.  
  
"He did it . . ." Soujiro murmured, eyes glued to the fight. His hand went to his sword hilt and hovered there.  
  
'I did it . . .' Kenshin thought, blazing towards his teacher. Hiko smiled slightly.  
  
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu Kuzuryuusen.  
  
Soujiro's eyes widened as hit after hit was blocked. Kenshin's Kuzuryuusen meeting Hiko's and deflecting each attack. "I didn't last this long . . ." Soujiro murmured, right before Kenshin was knocked to the ground. 'He looks almost the same . . . how could he trade so many blows with Hiko-sensei before being knocked down?'  
  
"My Kuzuryuusen . . . wasn't perfect?" Kenshin said, stunned, as he levered himself off the dusty ground. Hiko kept his back to his student but glanced backwards, his sword once again resting against his shoulder.  
  
"It was perfect, but even with the same techniques, if the fighters differ, the force will be different as well," Hiko said, looking down at him. "In wild-attack techniques, it's the strength of your arms that counts; in charging techniques, it's your weight. In both respects, you're my inferior. In other words, before my Kuzuryuusen, your Kuzuryuusen is, of course, as useless as any other technique."  
  
"So . . .I can't use the Kuzuryuusen . . ."  
  
"If you're going to defeat my Kuzuryuusen, there's only one technique that can do it."  
  
Soujiro grinned to himself. 'Is this a speech passed down from master to successor? He has it memorized . . .'  
  
"The greatest secret of the Hiten Mitsurugi school, the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki," Hiko said, the wind blowing his cape about and sending leaves flying through the air. Kenshin's eyes widened.  
  
"Wh . . .what?"  
  
"What are you looking so shocked for?" Hiko grinned. "I never said that the Kuzuryuusen was the ultimate technique."  
  
"You did that on purpose . . ." Kenshin muttered, chibi form. Hiko laughed shortly, before lifting his sword off his shoulder.  
  
"The Kuzuryuusen wasn't created in real combat or in training. It was made as a step in the passing down of the techniques, as a test. To learn the succession technique, first you begin with the Kuzuryuusen. If you can defeat the Kuzuryuusen of the previous master, the initiation in the secrets of the school is complete."  
  
"But . . ."  
  
"Think hard about the Kuzuryuusen you just learned. If you do you'll get a general idea of the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki," Hiko replied, getting into the Kuzuryuusen stance again.  
  
"About the Kuzuryuusen . . ." Kenshin murmured, before blinking once and sheathing his sword and getting into battoujutsu stance. "The Kuzuryuusen is a technique that allows no possibility of defense or flight. Nothing other than battou-jutsu can strike quickly enough to defeat it!"  
  
"Well done," Hiko congratulated. "Surpassing divine speed is the greater divine speed of battou-jutsu. This is the true nature of the secret technique Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki." His glance lowered to Kenshin's sword. "But the problem is that the reverse blade will handicap the battou- jutsu. Can you still surpass divine speed?"  
  
Soujiro, who had been staring avidly at the fight, flinched as Kenshin got out of the battoujutsu stance and stood, squarely facing their master. "What is he doing?"  
  
"In formless stance . . . your sword put away . . . you're using Haisui no jin?" Hiko exhaled sharply. "That's foolish."  
  
"Haisui no jin . . ." Soujiro murmured, trying to remember. "A formless stance . . .One who prepares to exhaust all his strength, who cannot recover if he fails. . ." Soujiro tried to mentally take notes of what was going on.  
  
"I know. But even so . . . Even if I throw away my life, I must master the succession technique." Kenshin's eyes narrowed and he stood, facing his teacher who still stood in the Kuzuryuusen stance. They matched each other glare for glare. Both students looked surprised as Hiko lowered his sword slowly.  
  
"Then, you truly are a baka deshi."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
The caped man turned away from the smaller man, toward his hut. "You haven't learned anything at all."  
  
"Sh . . Shishou!"  
  
"Take one night. Until morning, search your heart and find the part of you that you lack. If you can't do that, in mastering the ultimate technique, you really will be throwing away your life."  
  
The wind blew stronger, kicking up leaves and sending them swirling in the air. Soujiro and Kenshin glanced at each other before shrugging, Kenshin turning to go into the forest and Soujiro unsheathing his sword.  
  
"Himura-san."  
  
"Hai, Seta-dono?" Kenshin replied, not turning around but stopping.  
  
"Compared to Hiko-sensei, I'm more your size."  
  
"Oro?"  
  
". . .Would you want to try your Kuzuryuusen against mine?"  
  
TBC  
  
I wanted to use the Soujiro vs Kenshin idea from Moonlight2 . . . but its 12:48 and I'm sleepy . . . I didn't want to be too obvious . . .  
  
eg. Having Soujiro think 'Its unfair, why is hiko-sensei helping Himura- san. I'm his student now. . .'  
  
like that . . . its too obvious ne? and it makes him sound like a little kid . . . so I tried to do it more . . subtly? Is that the right word? Did it work?  
  
Moonlight2 - thanks for the review and the ideas! ^_^ 


	19. Chapter 18: Challenge

O_O Didn't realize it was so long since I didn't update this fic…Sorry!! *bows multiple times* you want me to commit seppuku for you guys? _;; I will update more! I definitely will! …Or I hope I will… I  have practice exams next week and then…two weeks to 3 exams…then another two weeks for 3 more exams… I'll do my best! I owe you guys!!! XD 

Chapter 18 – Challenge

"…Would you want to try your Kuzuryuusen against mine?" Soujiro asked, smiling at Kenshin with drawn sword in hand. The rurouni slowly turned to face his teacher's newest student, faint surprise showing in his widened eyes. Soujiro blinked at the expression and thought to himself a minute. "Oh! No no no, I'm just trying to help you practice the move! Then, perhaps you will be able to learn the final ougi." Kenshin sighed and smiled at the younger man.

"Is that the only reason you have, Seta-donno?"

            "Hahaha…you're good at reading people Himura-san," Soujiro replied, resting his sword against his shoulder. "Hm…no, it isn't my only reason. I've only practiced Kuzuryuusen against Hiko-sensei and~" Soujiro raised his left arm and looked at it. "We're slightly different in strength ^^; I want to see how I would match up with one of more…my level?" Kenshin nodded, a faint smile still on his face. 

            "I cannot practice all night though, Seta-donno," Kenshin apologized, drawing his sword. "I have to find what I lack…"

            "That's what I'm helping you with, Himura-san." Soujiro smiled as the two squared off against each other. Kenshin narrowed his eyes and raised his sword, holding the hilt in both hands. Soujiro did the same, with the ever-present smile still…present on his face. Kenshin took a faltering step forwards. "What's wrong, Himura-san?"

            "A-Are you taking this fight seriously?" Kenshin asked, looking confused.

            "What do you mean?" Soujiro asked, turning chibi.

            "Your ken-ki…I can't feel any…"

            "Oh! That!" Soujiro laughed. "Hiko-sensei always complains about that as well. Please ignore it Himura-san and we can get started." Kenshin gave the smiling young man another look before nodding and concentrating once again.

            **Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu Kuzuryuusen.**

            Soujiro cocked his head and smiled, eyes closed. _He saw the move once, and he could perform it…I finally get to see the skills of the legendary Hitokiri Battousai…_

            **Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu Kuzuryuusen.**

            Both men's eyes widened as each hit blocked the other perfectly. Again and again, no hit connected but Soujiro suddenly felt himself being pushed back. Only by inches, but his zori had moved back by Kenshin's attacks. _It's less of a difference then when I go against Hiko-sensei but…_ The blows stopped being exchanged and the two swordsmen lowered their swords as one. "That was amazing Himura-san! You've already mastered Kuzuryuusen after two attempts." Kenshin sweatdropped.

            "Maa…"

            "Anyway." Soujiro pointed down at the small indent in the ground where he had been pushed back. "It seems your strength is also too much for me!" He put his hand behind his head and laughed slightly. Kenshin smiled back.

            "Seta-donno, you'll become stronger the more you train."

            "I don't specialize in strength though, Himura-san." Soujiro looked down a moment as he tapped his foot on the ground. "I rely on my speed." Soujiro looked up still with the bright smile on his face. "May I train with you a while longer?" Kenshin opened his mouth to apologize but then nodded.

            "You haven't fought against anyone yet, have you?" Soujiro shook his head once, practically bouncing now. "Maa…calm down…it isn't that fun to fight. But, I will train against you for a while then." 

            "Thank you, Himura-san," Soujiro said, bowing his head slightly before blurring out of sight.

            "W-What?" Kenshin watched a path of destruction fly towards him; dust flew, clods of dirt spewed into the air, stems of grass shredded, twigs snapped and shattered. A moment before Soujiro reached him, Kenshin dodged to the side and quickly spun to see the blue-clad smiling boy reappear as he slid to a stop a few feet behind the red head. "Seta-donno…that was…Shikuchi?" Soujiro grinned and nodded his head. 

            "It's natural you knew of it, because it was Hiko-sensei who taught me it."

            "Shishou didn't tell me of it…" Kenshin sweatdropped. "But…its amazing for you to have mastered it at so young an age."

            "Weren't you called the Hitokiri when you were sixteen?" Soujiro asked, tapping his foot again. Kenshin frowned slightly but inclined his head. "I heard Hiko-sensei call you this, as well as me. Tenken. Heavenly sword. Prodigy. Either Hiko-sensei was lucky to get such gifted students or he is as good of a teacher as he always claims." Soujiro smiled. "Anyway Himura-san, that wasn't the real Shikuchi. It was three steps slower than the real one." Soujiro sweatdropped at Kenshin's incredulous look. "Maa…I haven't perfected it yet, I'm still practicing one step. I can show you two steps before now though." Kenshin nodded.

            _He's almost showing off his techniques…But…I suppose he sees me as his predecessor…maybe his sempai…_ Kenshin sweatdropped then smiled. _I supposed I can train against him for a while longer._ The red-headed swordsman narrowed his eyes as the younger man disappeared from sight once again, the blur of destruction raging towards him. This time, Kenshin leapt into the air as the boy blazed under him.

            "'Hiten Mitsurugi Ryutsusen!" Kenshin landed on his feet as Soujiro dodged around the aerial attack and reappeared behind him. "Ryukansen!" Kenshin spun around and slashed out with his sakabatou. Kenshin gritted his teeth as Soujiro dodged his counter-attack and disappeared. _It just isn't his speed…I can't sense his ken-ki…it's like fighting a dead man…_

            "Ryutsuisenzan!" Kenshin rolled to the side as Soujiro's blade cut a deep rent in the earth. Regaining his feet, Kenshin changed his grip on his sakabatou's hilt.

            "Doryusen!" A shower of rocks flew towards the blue-clad man. 

            Soujiro looked from his kneeling stance at the attack and quickly regained his feet, also switching his grip. "Doryusen!" Soujiro's sword made the earth explode and send another shower towards Kenshin. Both students turned chibi as the attacks met and dirt flew everywhere, splattering over them and the general area. 

            "Oro…M-Maybe we should take a break from sparring and clean this up Seta-donno before Shishou sees it…" Kenshin mumbled, eyes wide. Soujiro nodded and they both sheathed their swords and sweatdropped, looking at the destruction they had made.

            As they were cleaning, Soujiro looked up from his gathering of twigs and smiled at the long-haired man. "Himura-san, did I help you at all?" Kenshin looked up from wiping the kiln clean and sweatdropped.

            "Oro?"

            "Find what you were lacking?"

            "Ah! Ah, I think…" Kenshin trailed off as he thought about the fight and his teacher's words. 

            "Take one night. Until morning, search your heart and find the part of you that you lack. If you can't do that, in mastering the ultimate technique, you really will be throwing away your life."

            _Shishou…what do I lack? I never thought about why I surpassed others. I thought I was a sinner, hiding the true nature of the Hitokiri deep in my heart. Maybe…_

            "Seta-donno? You haven't mastered the ougi, have you?" 

            "Iie. I, however, am not about to go fight Shishio Makoto and his men. Hiko-sensei said that it was too soon for me to learn it…" Soujiro replied, his bangs covering his eyes. "He said it would be best for me to master Shikuchi first…"

            Kenshin nodded to himself. He had left his training early…and he had slaughtered people in the name of a revolution. "I'm sorry Seta-donno, about this." 

            "?"

            "I came back and interrupted your training," Kenshin said, turning to face Soujiro, the cloth hanging lose in his hand. "I won't bother you with this anymore." Soujiro opened his mouth but Kenshin held up the cloth and shook his head. "Iie Seta-donno. This is my problem and I must find the answer within myself." Soujiro sweatdropped.

            "Hai Himura-san…I know that but…"

            "But?"

            "The cloth's on fire…"

            "ORO!"

TBC

Sorry bout the corny ending :P Sorry for the very very late update and very very short chapter…Sorry! Well…I know where I'm going with this now though, so I'll probably update again really soon…I hope… Thanks if anyone's still reading this!! 

Moonlight2: I've finally started writing more of HMR ^^; Thanks for all your ideas :P And…its kind of a tie :P 

Lord Cirenmas: Thanks for still reading ^^;

Momoku: Once again I'll say it…its not I don't believe that pairing works…its that I know I can't write romance/pairing fics…I'm just not good at it :P sorry

greeneydgrl74: Did you just start reading this fic? ^_^ And…Soujiro is a guy *sweatdrops* 

kitiara_uth_matar: Ah, I'll try not to hurt everyone that much but…in the RK storyline many people are hurt ^^;; 


	20. Chapter 19: Life

AN: I still have reviewers! *very happy* I can't believe this…yay…*grins* you guys have made my day ^__^

Chapter 19: Life

Soujiro yawned and stretched, standing up. He hadn't wanted to bother Hiko before, so the blue eyed boy had slept outside against the log his teacher usually sat on when staring in the kiln's bright flames. Slipping his sword through his hakama belt, he glanced at the rurouni who was resting against the side of the kiln, fast asleep. Soujiro smiled and looked at the pre-dawn sky. _Himura-san… Hiko-sensei… I wonder what will happen today…Will Himura-san learn the ougi? Or…_ Soujiro quickly shook his head, the smile still in place. _Hiko-sensei will get angry if he wakes up with out any water…_ Soujiro quietly went behind the hut where his master slept and picked up a bucket, running off towards the stream.  As he dipped the bucket into the water, Soujiro held up his kimono sleeves to avoid getting them wet. _If he learns the ougi…will he take over the school? Then…will he become my teacher?_ Soujiro sweatdropped, imagining Kenshin attempting to teach with Hiko glaring in the background and calling them both baka deshi. He carried the water back, still thinking of what the day would hold, and poured the water into a barrel. A faint rustling sound made him look over his shoulder, to where Kenshin had looked up, blinking sleep-blurred eyes. 

            "Ohayou Himura-san."

            "O-Ohayou Seta-donno," Kenshin replied, yawning slightly before standing up. The red-head looked up at the gradually lightening sky. "You're up early."

            "Hai. Hiko-sensei likes having fresh water in the morning. It takes him a while to wake up." Soujiro laughed quietly but broke it off as the hut's broken door crashed down and a bleary eyed Hiko came out. Ignoring the cheerful greeting by his blue-clad student, Hiko stalked up to Kenshin and traded glares from eyes with dark circles underneath their eyes. The sun rose.

            "You look like you didn't sleep at all last night," Hiko said, his voice hoarse.

            "So do you," Kenshin replied, glaring back. They both blinked simultaneously. Soujiro shuffled up to Hiko and tapped him on the shoulder, receiving a similar blurred glare. 

            "Hiko-sensei, may I recommend waking up before you try teaching Himura-san the ougi?" Soujiro asked, a bright smile on his face. If anything, the dark circles deepened, seeing the younger man's alertness. "The water's fresh and cold." Soujiro cocked his head before running off to get two small buckets, filling them and putting them on a table. He gestured to them, still smiling. "Dozo, Hiko-sensei, Himura-san." 

            "Arigatou Seta-donno…" Kenshin said, a slightly dazed smile on his face. Both teacher and student moved over to the table and splashed their faces with the cold water. Soujiro folded his arms and watched them from a distance, holding two small towels in one hand. The water dripped from their faces.

            "So…did you discover what you lack?" Hiko asked. He caught the thrown towel without looking and dried his face off with it in one sweep, tossing it onto the table afterwards. 

            "No…" Kenshin turned and took the proffered towel from the smiling boy and wiped his face dry. 

            "I see. So after all, you are a man with limits here." Hiko didn't turn around, his back facing Kenshin's. "You didn't find what you lack. Incomplete, mastering the succession technique or defeating the Shishio faction is meaningless. Even if you devoted yourself to defeating them, you could not defeat the Hitokiri who lives in your heart. Tormented by anguish and pain your whole life, you kill." With one movement, Hiko loosened the ties that held his cloak on. "Instead of the succession technique, prepare for the worst. My final duty as your master." Both of his students widened their eyes as Hiko drew his sword. Kenshin quickly brought up his arm to shield his face, as the force of the air created a rent in the ground and sent leaves spinning through the air. Soujiro blinked as the floppy sleeves of his kimono blew back and forth forcefully. Their teacher's cloak sailed overhead, striking the ground behind Kenshin with a heavy thudding sound and kicking up dust.

            "A white cloak set with springs opposing the muscles and 10 kan of shoulder-weights." Hiko took a step forward, over the slash wound in the earth. His eyes were shaded, narrowed. "It's been used by those who hold the name Hiko Seijuurou to restrain the inheritor of Hiten Mitsurugi's power in times of peace. Prepare yourself. Kenshin." 

Kenshin's eyes widened as his teacher began to walk forward, towards him, slowly, purposefully. _This is the first time I've seen him…the true Hiko Seijuurou…_ A sudden movement made him glance down. _My left hand…it's shaking. Am I scared? Of Shishou? Of Hiko Seijuurou? Or…of the death I can see so clearly behind him…_Soujiro blinked as Kenshin quickly clenched his hand into a fist, his eyes narrowing and a determined expression appearing on the rurouni's sweating face. _I am not afraid! I was prepared to die in the Bakumatsu's violence. Even if it costs me my life, I will learn the technique._

            _I…hope Himura-san can learn the technique._

            Hiko stared at Kenshin a moment, thoughtfully, before letting go of something inside of him. "Let's go."

**Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu Kuzuryuusen.**

            Soujiro saw his teacher blazing forwards towards his first student, his baka deshi. _Would he do the same to me…if I couldn't learn the ougi?_

            Kenshin saw death, his teacher, coming for him. Paralyzed, he heard voices.

            "I want the vagabond to stay, not Hitokiri Battousai!" A girl, all alone, shouting at him.

            "Dammit…I want to be strong!" A boy, crying as he wished for strength to help himself and others.

            "That's why I'm not letting you go wandering off, Kenshin." A bandaged teen, a smirk on his face, a sign on his back that he fought for.

            "If you're using my dealings with opium as a hold on Ken-san, then I'd rather be executed." A woman, family dead, forced to use her skills to create powdered death.

            "I'll be watching from hell, to see how long you can stay a rurouni." A grin from a bloodied mouth, staring up at the moon in the darkened sky.

            "After this, it's up to you, Himura Battousai." A disfigured face, sacrificing his life.

            "Until I kill you, no one will." Dead eyes, a man standing on the top of a wall, the heads of his companions in his hands.

            "If you try to bear everything by yourself, you'll only end up miserable. I don't agree with that at all!" A girl, young, shouting out her anger.

            "Everyone wants to see you come back safe. Please don't forget that." An old man, long lived, tired, still helping the world.

            "For the sake of the people of Japan, Himura, go to Kyoto once more." He lost his life for his country, assassinated.

"From now on, Japan's confusion truly begins." A wolf, narrowed eyes, Shinsengumi.  

"KENSHIN-----!!!" She cried for him as she shouted his name.

"I…I can't die!" Kenshin gritted his teeth and his hand flew to grip the handle of his sakabatou. Hiko's blank eyes, death's eyes, stared at him. "I have no reason to die!" Kenshin drew his sword; they clashed. Soujiro didn't move, he couldn't follow what had just happened. The two stayed slightly bend, swords lowered, till Hiko straightened.

"That's it…that's good." Hiko's back was to both of his students, but his voice was grave and…pleased. "You who killed, held remorse and guilt. You thought nothing of your own life. You hid the fact that yours too, is just another human life. This held back your own strength. That was how you allowed the Hitokiri to build a nest in your own heart. When you surmounted this, you discovered what you lacked." Hiko turned, revealing a huge slash in his tunic across the chest. "The will to live.

"With the Buddha's benevolence you sacrificed yourself to protect the weak and those you loved. Left in sadness, they could not truly be happy. In the dangers of the age, in the passion of violence, laying down your life is insignificant in the flowing passage of time. There is nothing stronger than the will to live… Never forget that. You'll be able to use the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki freely and well. You won't lose to the Shishio faction or even to the Hitokiri inside you."

"Shishou…" Hiko smiled lightly. "Shishou?"

"Don't worry…It's the destiny of the master and student of the sword, in passing down the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki. Don't think of it as breaking your vow…" The gash on his chest widened, looking like a furrow in the dirt and Hiko stumbled forwards. 

"Shishou!!"

            "The Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki is the strongest technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi school. You master it in exchange of the life of your predecessor. As master and student of the sword, all I've taught you ends here." Hiko glanced at Soujiro. "After this, even as a rurouni, you must~" Hiko Seijuurou fell into the dust. 

            "Shishou! He's…joking…there's no way it could kill him with just one blow from my sakabatou…" Soujiro took a step forward, hand outstretched.

            "H-Hiko-sensei?" Their teacher lay motionless in the dust, his long hair blowing in the slight wind. The smile on the boy's face faltered and disappeared.

            _Am I going to let him die?_ Kenshin threw aside his sakabatou and grabbed one of his teacher's arms, lifting him. _Can I stand to let him die??_ Kenshin began dragging Hiko towards the hut. It was difficult, Kenshin was small…smaller than his teacher, and even that short distance seemed long. _The longer I take…_ "Oro?" Kenshin tilted his head to look over his teacher's slashed chest, to come face to face with a beaming smile.

            "I can't let you save Hiko-sensei without me, Himura-san."

            "H-Hai Seta-donno…" Kenshin sweatdropped but became serious again. "We have to hurry." Soujiro nodded and they lugged their teacher's inert body inside the hut. As Soujiro laid him down on a tatami mat, Kenshin started ransacking the hut, opening draws and boxes and baskets, until he found a paper packet. He held it up, his breathing quickened. "Found it." Soujiro blinked and looked up from filling a bamboo water container with water from the bucket. "Before, I almost died from eating warai-take, Shishou got me a heart-strengthening medicine." Souijro nodded and hit his fist lightly onto his palm. "Going down the mountain to find a doctor…it would take too long… All we can do is bet on his strength." Soujiro nodded again and poured some water into their teacher's mouth after Kenshin had put the medicine in. "Shishou…" 

"Himura-san…I could run down the mountain and find a doctor…" Soujiro said in a somber voice. Kenshin started and looked at the non-smiling boy. "Would we make it in time though?" Kenshin looked down at the dusty hut floor and shook his head.

            "Only Megumi-donno would be willing to visit this mountain at this time…Just…stay here and believe in Shishou, Seta-donno." Kenshin attempted to give the boy a smile.

[Change of scene]

            Neji stood outside the gates on Mt. Hiei. In one hand, he held the shinobi zue, and in the other was a box of random mochi he had bought to try and explain why he had been gone for three days. He sighed and lifted the box up to eye level. "Mochi? If I had recruited someone…or anything else…it would have explained it better…But I needed something to put the…" The two guards standing outside the gates gave him a look at his inaudible muttering before quickly standing at attention when he glared at them. Shrugging, the young man went inside. Before he had walked down the first hallway, he heard a shout and turned to glance down one of the side corridors. Yumi ran up to him, her off shoulder kimono slipping even more off her shoulders. 

            "Neji-kun!"

            "Ah, nee-chan. Tadaima." Neji grinned.

            " 'Tadaima'? 'Tadaima'??"

"Eh? What's wrong? You seem…angry."

"Where have you been??" Yumi screeched, making her younger brother flinch. 

            "Well…" Neji scratched his head with the end of his shinobi zue. "I needed to fix shinobi zue's blade because Himura broke it before…and it took a while for that to happen."

            "And…so what's in the box?" Yumi asked, giving her brother a disbelieving look.

            "…mochi…"

            "The blacksmith gave you mochi as a present?" Yumi went chibi and glared at her brother, inches from his face. 

            "Hai! Ah…iie…that is…" Neji sweatdropped, leaving a silence as he attempted to explain the necessity of buying the snacks. _I bought it to explain why I was gone…and to put the note for Shishio-sama…but I was gone for three days…and it doesn't take anyone three days to buy mochi…and…what can I say?? Nee-chan knows I'm lying!_ Yumi continued glaring until she sighed, giving up that battle and beginning to complain about another one.

            "While you were gone, that Usui showed up!" Yumi shouted. Neji's eyes narrowed at the mention of the other Juppon Katana's name. His eyes flashed to behind his sister. 

            "And what's wrong with that Usui?" The man stood behind his sister, whose widened eyes betrayed fear and shock. The ball of Usui's spear rested in his palm, the turtle shield on his back. Neji quickly slid in front of his sister, dropping the box of mochi into her hands and resting the end of the shinobi zue against the wooden floorboards. 

            "You finally made it here, Usui?" Neji asked, his voice barely polite and his expression angry. Usui half-smirked.

            "Aren't you going to offer me any of those?" Usui asked, leaning forwards. "After all, someone as devoted as yourself, should only leave Shishio's side to perform some proper duty. Leaving his side just for mochi?" 

            "I would say repairing my weapon is proper duty, Usui." Now the young man's voice was openly sarcastic and he made it look like he was going to test his newly repaired weapon on the other man. Neji gritted his teeth as the slightly taller man bent, raising his blindfold to look at him with scarred eyes. 

            "My mind's eye can see straight through men's hearts. You are no exception." Usui's smirk deepened. "You're angry. Is that because I threaten your beloved Shishio? Or…" He turned his sightless eyes to where Yumi was standing behind Neji. "Is it beca~" The blind man cut off his speech as a bright blade was pressed against his throat. 

            "Why I'm angry and what I did in my time away from Shishio-sama is none of your business Usui. Get the hell away from me."

            The smirk disappeared as the man straightened, snorting out a breath quickly. He turned to leave but glanced back, drawing the blindfold back down on his eyes. "The other three have arrived. We meet at the main hall." No reply came from Neji, and the blind man shrugged once, laughed shortly, and left. Neji exhaled once, loosening his grip on the metal staff. He blinked as he felt his sister fall against his back, leaning her forehead on his shoulder.

            "Nee-chan?" There was a pause, a silence, before she straightened and gave him a weak smile.

            "We should go to the main hall, Neji-kun." She pulled up the sides of her kimono slightly before setting off at a fast walk, the mochi in tow. Neji smiled before realizing she had the box with the note in it. "Ah! Matte yo nee-chan!!" 

            At the entrance of the main hall, Neji had got the box of mochi back, resulting in a glare from his sister who thought it was a gift for her. As they entered the room, Neji grinned apologetically at her. "Gomen nee-chan, I think Shishio-sama should get first choice of which one to try, ne?" Yumi huffed once, then shrugged and smiled at him. 

            "Ah! Neji! Yumi!" The siblings looked up to see another member of the Juppon Katana, wielding a scythe and coming towards them. "It's been so long!"

            "Kamatari, nice…to see you again," Neji replied, not sure how to act around the cross-dressing scythe-wielder. Yumi sighed, not bothering to reply.

            "This time we'll see who can steal Shishio-sama's heart," Kamatari said, a grin on his face. Neji edged away as his sister narrowed her eyes and leaned in, inches away from the cross-dresser's face.

            "I'm not going to lose to **a guy**!" 

            "The young have so much energy…heh heh heh." Neji blinked and looked down at the old man he had almost walked over. 

            "Ah…that's true Saitsuchi…When did you get here?" Neji looked around. "Is your partner here?" 

            The old man pulled on his whiskers lightly with his hand. "Fuji's outside. He couldn't fit through the door." Neji blinked and nodded.

            "That makes sense…" Saitsuchi started to say something else, but Neji turned his head to stare at a closed door.  

            "Feh…young people these days."

            "They're all here Shishio-sama," Houji said, opening the door and coming into the room. He held the door open for Shishio, who came in calmly, dressed in his usual purple kimono and his sword sheathed at his side. Neji remembered the box in his hand and quickly side-stepped the old man, rushing up and nearly beheading himself on Kamatari's scythe. 

            "Ah, sorry Neji!" 

            "Shishio-sama, I'm sorry repairing the shinobi zue took so long. When I was leaving, I saw these mochi and thought you and nee-chan might like them," Neji said, attempting to open the box while still holding his staff. Houji opened his mouth to say something but Neji quickly glared at him. "They looked really good, so…I hope you'll like them." He got the box lid open and held the mochi out to Shishio, as if offering the snacks to him. Neji saw Shishio's eyes flicker over the message he had written.

            "You should check, if the blacksmith took that long to repair your weapon, it may not be fixed well," Shishio said in an off-hand comment, as if the present had bored him. Neji nodded and closed the lid, handing it to Shishio, who handed it to Houji. Neji backed into the crowd once again as Shishio took center stage. "Everyone, you have traveled far and waited long."

            Neji half-listened, glancing guiltily at his sister now and then. _I lied to her. Mochi…Rengoku's completed…Nee-chan…what could I have done?_

            "Due to an unexpected incident, Chou isn't here, but aside from him, we've all gathered."

Sword-Hunter Chou

            "Those who honor me."

Neji the Devoted

Kamatari of the Great Scythe

            "Those who would kill me."

Usui the Blind Sword

            "Those who lost faith in the Meji government."

Yumi of the Night

Bright King Anji

Houji of the Hundred Senses

            "Those with great abilities and great self-confidence."

Round Demon Iwanbou

Soaring Henya

Destructive Army (First) Saitsuchi

Destructive Army (Second) Fuji

            "With our own thoughts, the time to act as one has come. Tomorrow night at 11:59 the Great Fire of Kyoto will begin."

TBC

Sorry for the delay! I was going to post this Friday night, but I only wrote a few paragraphs. I added a few more paragraphs Saturday night…Sunday I didn't have time for it… But tonight I was translating a Spanish story and…I was so bored I felt like continuing…. Joke! :P I wanted to continue it, really! ^_^ It's getting to the cooler parts…thanks for sticking with me :P I may not post a chapter by Saturday/Sunday because I have exams…so…expect an update at earliest next Wednesday or…at latest next Saturday ^^; I'm giving myself some time to work in my laziness…*grins*

Moonlight2: Haha…yeah, I took longer updating than you ^^; I couldn't be bothered to think of a new idea of how Kenshin found out what he lacks…but I'm going to change some parts *grins* Hm…I don't think I'm going to pit Soujiro against Neji, because…Neji's fighting style is similar to Kenshin's…and its more interesting (personally) to see that I think :P Write more of your fic! And thanks for your long review too ^_^

Lord Cirenmas: o_o hard for me to write your name…but…thanks for reading and reviewing! ^_^

ZeonReborn: Yup ^^ Btw in your nick, zeon is that like the bad guys in the early gundam series? ^^; Thanks for the review!

Justice Stryfe: Hah…did I put this story up there? ^^; I don't remember that…or do the people who own the site…they find the fics? Ah…yah I'm not sure how to reply to your review…but I'm glad you like it ^__^ And I read the first chapter of your Hiko story, its good :P I'll try to write more and faster ^^ Thanks for the review!


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